Stray Dog
by Nemoa
Summary: Nearly her whole family is dead. Left behind is Mrs Higurashi and her daughter Kagome, who loves dogs over all else. But her mom refuse to give her one..  One day in the park a snow white akita inu walkes up to Kagome and annoys her to no end, causing her to dodge the dog and run home where she gets attacked. Out of nowhere a boy appears and saves her. Where has she seen these eyes
1. Prologue

"But mom!" the raven-haired girl cried as she clenched her fists along her sides. "Why?"

"Because", her mother said tiredly," we simply don't have enough room to keep a dog. Besides, a dog requires big spaces, and the best would be to have a garden which, if you haven't noticed, doesn't fit in this area. It's just too cramped for two people, with a _dog_, in this part of town."

"But just a tiny dog then? Like a chihuahua, or something!" the girl pleaded, her own eyes turning into desperate little puppy eyes.

"I have said no, Kagome," Miss Higurashi sighed as she rubbed her creased forehead. "A dog right now, with our economic situation, our home and all is a big No at the moment."

"But what about later? We aren't going to live here forever, right?"

Her mom looked up from the pile of bills, looking eyes with her daughter. "No, Kagome. And that," she viewed the enormous mountain of bills, "is final."

Kagome's facial facade dropped and she glared angry at her mother, before stomping off into her room, where she slammed the door. Hard, so that everyone in that whole damn house could hear. Then she slumped against the door, and clutched her legs while hiding her head in her knees.  
>It wasn't fair. Since her little brother, Souta, died after chasing after their old cat Buyo across the road, it had never been another animal in their little family. Her mother had taken it hard, accusing the cat for causing her son's death. Kagome's grandfather had died a short while after. <em>'His heart couldn't bear it,'<em> the doctors had said. _'First his son, and then his grandson – how horrible,'_ neighbors and friends gossiped.

With a muffled hiccup she tried to make herself into a little ball. It wasn't that she was mad at her mother – it was just that she wanted someone, _something, _to keep her company when she got home. A dog would have done the trick. Not a cat, nor a fish. A dog. A friend that welcomed her as who she was, not _what_ she did: a cat only cuddled since it got feed, a fish… you couldn't cuddle at all. Sure, you could teach it some fancy tricks, but so could a dog. And a dog really _loved_ you.

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><p><strong>So. Guys. I'm reposting this, since I noticed some things that isn't the same in the story. Sorry if I made you angry with a sort of rewrite.<strong>

**Either way, update Friday, that is tomorrow (maybe today? The clock says it's two in the morning o.o)**


	2. Irrelevant Issues

"Kagome, are you all right?"

"Yeah, you seem kind of gloomy. Has something happened?"

Kagome raised her head from where it rested on the bench and stared gloomily at Eri and Yuka who stood looming over her, like some kind of palm trees. Ayumi however sat next to Kagome, staring at her with worried eyes.

"I'm all right… just got in a fight with my mom…" she mumbled before letting her forehead slam back at the hard plywood.

"Come on Kagome; it can't have been that bad," Eri said while lightly patting her friend's shoulder.

"Yeah," Yuki inflicted. "I mean, we all get mad at our mothers for being silly over little stuff as clothing and boys. Which reminds me," she loomed near Kagome's ear before she whispered loud enough for the four of them to hear, "how are things going with Hojo?"

"Hmm is whu go'en wi ho?" the girl murmured.

"With Hojo of course! Come on, we all know how he has been after you since what – kindergarten?" Yuki huffed.

Kagome glared at their gossip-hungry faces. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I aren't going anywhere with him since I haven't ever thought of him that way."

Her three friends gasped in unison. "You can't be serious! Hojo is´, like, the only guy in school whose _worth_ looking at and you say you _haven't_?" Eri gaped, her mouth hanging wide open.

Gently Kagome reached over and plucked her mouth closed. "Yeah. All I'm looking at is either movies, food or-"

"Dogs," the other's sighed.

The raven-haired girl grinned. "Exactly."

"This fight with your mom, don't tell me it was about some dog again?"

"..maybe?"

"Kagome…" Ayumi sighed, putting her chin in her left hand leaning against the table.

"I know… it's just, since Souta and gramps died mom have been so busy. I'm always alone at home, and when _she_ is there she's either looked up in her room or in the kitchen paying bills or something…"

She glared at her bench and scratched at a notch. "I just want someone that is waiting for me at home…"

You could almost touch the silence that surrounded the girls. The heavy atmosphere as they thought about that dreadful day two quarters of Kagome's family had been lost forever. And it was just at that moment a certain boy decided to talk to the depressed girl.

"Hi, Kagome. Um, are you doing anything on Friday?" Hojo asked, his eyes twinkling as a child staring at a giant lollipop. "Want to go catch a movie or something?"

More silence broke out before a crash rang through the room. Kagome, with her head still throbbing from her head-first-fall groaned. "Kami, kill me too…"


	3. Contemplating

After school Kagome was still as grumpy as before. Why couldn't that boy at least _try_ to read the atmosphere before opening his mouth? When she had crashed her head on the table, did he take the hint? No – he just asked if she was as worried as he about the upcoming test in math!

She swore under her breath over how insolent boys nowadays could be, where she sat on the bench in the public park. An empty soda can became her victim and kicked high up in the air before it fell down with a loud *clonk*, jumping up again and then falling into the fountain where it sank with a quiet *blurb*. An elderly pair stared at her from the other side, and then they stood up and walked away, all the while whispering to each other and glancing backwards. But as soon as they met her heavily annoyed gaze, they turned back around and hurried on out of the park.

She sighed and leaned back, closing her eyes. If only she could be like that soda can, she would allow herself to sink into the deepest of oceans known as "despair" and then she would embrace the quiet and darkness that came with it. But that, she could not. Her mother would be worried – if she noticed at all, that is. Her friends would most certainly see that she was down, but they would probably assume that it had to do with a boy – namely Hojo. No one would figure that she was depressed for real, and not only because of her mother's constant denial for a dog.

As a sign for all her worries she heard a dog's barking nearby. She didn't open her eyes and take a peek at the creature, because she knew it would only make matters worse. So she kept her eyes closed, only her ears eager to her the dog again. It sounded to her as if it were fighting with something, or maybe playing some sort of game. Maybe it was here with its owners, a family with a dad, a mom and a little child, playing with a flying disc, or it was playing around with another dog. Maybe it wasn't even a dog with an owner, it could be just a stray. A poor, filthy, starving stray dog, with huge pleading eyes that practically shouted "Love me!"

Kagome gave herself a mental slap. It was only depressing her further the way she thought about dogs and family.

It was right then however, that something wet nudged her hand.


	4. The Dog

She glared down at whoever dared to disturb her (not really) peaceful rest and came to stare into the eyes of a snow white dog, with bright amber eyes. It's tail was curled over its back, and it tromped from one foot to another, as if it was impatient with whatever took her so long.

As the proud dog-geek she was she grinned widely. "An Akita Inu!" she exclaimed happily, reaching down to scratch him under his muzzle. "Aren't you the cutest thing?"

Before she could touch him, he jumped backwards, tail down and a low growl emitting from its throat. It snapped every time she reached out to him.

"Jeez, I'm sorry! What crawled up your bum and died?" she muttered. "I'm sorry for that "cute" thing alright? Of course I meant you were handsome. What boy, or male dog, would like to be called cute?"

It continued to growl at her, but at least the snapping stopped. Kagome sighed and leaned back once again, when she felt that nose touching the backside of her palm. She cracked an eye open and glared at the dog, which seemed to pretend as if he hadn't just been behaving as an wolf toward her.

"Now what? I don't assume you're going to apologize?"

The dog turned its head with the nose in the air, his eyes closed as if asking _"Who do you think I am?"_

She snorted and closed her eyes again. "That's what I thought, you diva."

When that nose came in contact with hers several minutes later, she pretended she hadn't noticed. But as the nudging became more and more irritating, and her palm got more and more wet from dog drool, she had finally had enough.

"What!" she shouted, scaring the wits out of the dog as it jumped at her screeching tone. It hunched its head and shoulders and started his soft growling again.

"I don't know what you want, you stupid dog! You just keep bugging me!" she started rummaging in her school bag and brought out her leftover sandwich. Immediately she had the dogs attention, his golden eyes glued to the piece of bread.

"Here you go, you greedy baka dog!" She threw the bread as far as she could, the pieces of bread and salad flying in all directions. This didn't affect the dog that much; he happily bolted off, snapping one of the bread pieces before it touched the ground. After his meal he turned expectant eyes back to the girl, but found her to be gone. This didn't affect him; he started to immediately track down the girl.


	5. Damn you, damn her, damn me

"Damn all greedy dogs, damn all cheeky boys, damn this stupid sink, damn all parents that don't give a damn, damn them all!"

Kagome swore into the black cup she was currently cleaning. After running like crazy, since she didn't know if the dog had some kind of brain damage and would take up the hunt after her, she had come home to meet a note on the fridge:

'_Hon,  
>Going to be late tonight. Leftovers are in the fridge.<br>Love you,  
>Mom.'<em>

She had frowned at the note, but let it slide. After all, this wasn't the first time her mother weren't at home. But then Kagome had looked around in the kitchen and noticed the huge load of dishes her mom had left since making dinner yesterday. So now, there she was, arms and her uniform shirt covered in bubbles, little bits of fish under her nails and with such a bad mood that you could practically see the black cloud over her head throwing lightning.

And leftovers? What leftovers? For what Kagome knew, leftovers weren't a piece of bread on a plate. Leftovers were dinners they hadn't been able to complete, and therefor had a huge load of food left. That's where the damn word came from .Left. Overs. As simple as that!

Suddenly she heard a knock on the door. Still in her moody thoughts she grumbled when opening to greet the poor soul outside.

"Yes?" she said with her most unfriendly voice, staring straight into where the stranger's face was. Or at least that's what she thought. No one were standing there.

Feeling her already bad temper turn one more shade toward black, she peered out to her left and then her right. Still nobody in sight. Maybe some kid had played a prank and knocked before hiding in the evening.

"Damn greedy dogs, damn cheeky boys, damn parents that aren't at home, damn shadows, damn pranksters," she continued with her 'Damn-them-all' list. Closing the door she stomped into the kitchen to continue with her not-so-fun-spa-at-home, a k a dishing. However, as soon as she entered the doorway a hand clasped around her mouth.

For a second she went completely still, before she started tugging on the hand that refused her the life-ensuring air. Biting, clawing, kicking and screaming into the hand she struggled to get free, but as the hand remained as if carved from stone and another took both of her hands in an iron-strong hold she found it pointless. Black dots competed with explosions of white as she was about to pass out.

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><p><strong>AN: Well. Not completely pleased with this chapter, since it's mainly a filler chapter... Either way, please review and tell me what you think! ^^**


	6. The Boy

_Blissful darkness surrounded her. As she turned and twisted to look at her surroundings she saw something glint. Curious, since this discovery were the only other besides the darkness, she tip-toed to it. There, on the dark "floor" laid an old pocket watch, dusty and discolored. But it was clear that this watch were something that once had been sparkling like another little star._

_Understanding filled her eyes as Kagome bent down to pick her father's precious heirloom off the floor, but right then something slapped her in her face. _

"_Hello? Can you hear me? Oi, wake up!"_

_Wake up? Wasn't she awake then? And what was it that were hitting her?_

_Kagome rubbed her cheek where the slap still where burning, before she glanced down at the clock that had opened when she had dropped it. The familiar family crest, a sphere with a demon on one side and a priestess on the other, stared back at her. Then suddenly the image of the demon started to blur. She watched in awe as the little image disappeared from the clock._

"_Damnit, wake up!"_

_That voice again. It sounded rough and was definitely male. Father? She looked around her in (förväntan). But there wasn't anyone there. A hallucination?_

_A growl could be heard in the darkness. She spun around to face this… whatever it was. But not surprisingly, all that met her were the darkness. Or was that an..?_

_She frowned as she reached a hand out to touch the rough material, which she somehow hadn't seen before. She stroked the strange darkness and found it to be as soft as the fur of a puppy._

_Smiling she began to stroke more confidently, thinking of all different kinds of dogs that could have such a fur. Then, she heard it again. The growling, it rumbled through her hand._

_Startled she stumbled backwards, tripping over her feet and landing on her butt she found herself staring into two maliciously looking eyes. The growling turned into a soft purr and those eyes seemed to… s_mile_ at her. Glinting teeth flashed and right then it was as if someone had turned a switch. Suddenly the darkness disappeared and…_

She blinked as her eyes tried to adjust to the sudden light. Something was looming over her, calling _"Are you alright?"._ Sometimes the sound disappeared, so clearly she wasn't yet awake.

Rubbing her eyes and blinking a few times she had finally gotten her vision back. Kagome pushed the person's hands away grunting thing's like "don't bother" and "I'm fine". Then she actually looked at him, and was taken aback.

Silver white hair hung from a loose ponytail over one of his broad shoulders, a frown painted on his face over his glaring amber eyes. He looked like he was in her age, maybe one or two years older. But who he was and, more importantly, how he had gotten in she didn't pay too much attention to at the moment. What did catch her attention though were the fluffy little ears the boy had on his head.


	7. The Things We Call Cute

LionsHeart: Thank you, and Thank you for reading! ^^

Random-Tigerz-Of-Lilly: Of course there isn't any logic over something cute, it's just like with little animals. The soft fur, the huge eyes... *sigh* you just gotta go for the moment OwODisclaimer: I don't own InuYasha. If I did, I wouldn't go to school. InuYasha belongs to Rumiko Takahachi

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><p>"What 'cha staring at? Take a picture, it will last longer," the boy growled, narrowing his eyebrows even more.<p>

Kagome didn't hear him. _'White ears. White, fluffy, puppy ears…'_

"Oi, wench! Are ya listening?" he said waving his hand in front of her face, before snorting through his nose. "Since you don't seem _that_ out of it, I think I will let myself out."

'_Puppy ears, puppy ears, puppy ears!'_

Kagome couldn't take her eyes of those ears; her fingers were practically itching for the need to touch them, and most importantly – cuddle them. It was those kind of ears that you just got to love, those ears that would only appear on a week old puppy. _'Puppy ears, puppy ears!'_

"O-oi! What the hell are you doing?"

"Hmm?" she mumbled absentmindedly, finally tearing her eyes from the ears (puppy!). Her eyes widened as she stared into those golden eyes of his… in a much closer distance since she had seen him first.

"Minding to stop pulling my ears? It hurts, damn it." He was baring his teeth slightly at her, one eye closed rapidly in pain. She stared stupidly into his face before tracing her arms who reached up to his head, where her hands were cradled around the fluffy ears. She could feel how her hands, without her knowing, where grinding the ears if they were a piece of bread dough.

Kagome's eyes widened even more and she snatched her hands back to the safety by her body. Who knew; this boy, with the weird but natural looking ears, could as well really bite her fingers off.

"H-how can it hurt? They aren't real, are they?"

He only glared at her and made a sort of huff that sounded like "feh".

"They _are_?" she gasped, staring more intently at the soft things. "Are you serious? Then, what are you?"

"Feh," the boy snorted. He turned his back to her. "You know what I am."

"…no, I don't. And trust me, I'm pretty good with faces so- Hey! Are you the one who knocked me out?"

Huge eyes turned to her angry ones. "What? No! Why would I do t-"

"How did you get in here?" she interrupted, standing up on her wobbly legs. Damn, for how long had she been asleep? "What the heck do you want? Get out!"

"Hey, take it easy! I didn't do anything!" Now he was standing, holding his hands up to show he meant no harm. As if she was going to believe that! It's common for those who want something from you to lull you into false safety before taking all you have. Kagome had experienced that, and now her whole family was gone…

"Don't come any closer! I have-"she looked around her frenetically before finding a wooden spoon, "I have this and I'm not afraid of using it!"


	8. Of Men and Ladles

The boy's eyebrows rose in surprise and amusement for a second, before they narrowed again as he took a step closer.

"Stop! I mean it, I'm going to use it!"

He shrugged and stepped closer. "So, what are you gonna do? Cook me?"

Her face burned with badly controlled fury and embarrassment, but she still couldn't shake of the feeling that there was something this – this – _boy_ hadn't told her. May it be how the heck she got knocked out or why he had _dog ears_, something about him smelled fishy. 'Or maybe it's just this spoon. What is mother doing when cooking?'

When the boy took another step toward her she couldn't hold it anymore. She screamed – a pure amazon charge scream, and then hit him with all her strength on the side of his head. He flinched and stood still for what seemed like hours, before turning rage filled eyes to hers frightened ones.

"Now ya've done it." He growled.

Kagome yelped as the dog-boy jumped towards her, but from some unknown instinct she ducked and crawled under him, before sprinting out of the room. She heard him smash into the kitchen cabinets and a heated curse, but she didn't stop.

Frenetically she looked around her, disoriented for a moment before remembering where her front door was. She was just about to make a dash for it, just a few meters ahead of her, when she heard him coming – _from that direction_!

She turned and scrambled to the basement door, slammed it open and peered down in it.

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><p>InuYasha rubbed his chin. Damn that wench, she actually hit him! With a <em>spoon<em> for heaven's sake! Oh, when he found her he would take revenge.

Since he figured the girl would make a run for the outside, he chose the door he had walked through when InuYasha had heard some strange noises from the house. The girl had run out of the other door, therefore she was probably scared shitless at the moment and didn't really know how to get out of her own house.

He shook his head and started listening instead. There, from the left – soft footsteps quickly walking away and… down? A cellar?

He crouched and listened more closely. It definitely sounded as if she was in the basement. What was she, stupid? 'When they are stupid, they are usually easier to catch,' he smirked before leaping toward the source of the sound.

There, the basement door was wide-open. He mentally shook his head over female's clumsiness and then leaped down the stairs. Safely down he scrutinized his surroundings; an old piano, some large cartons in one dusty corner, a dryer and a washer. An old bicycle made the whole picture complete.

"Come out, come out." He mocked, smirking slightly. "There's nowhere to hide, and you know it. I just want to talk with you."

Suddenly the basement door slammed shut and a key locked him in the darkness.


	9. Alone

Kagome was terrified. All electricity in the house had gone out ever since the dog-boy had wreaked havoc in the cellar and "accidentally", as he called it, cut of a few cords that infused the house with light. Not only the light was gone; she couldn't even call the police or her mom.

So now she sat there by the basement door, at 20.30, in the darkness with a few candle lights, with her deceased little brother's baseball bat in her hands, waiting for her mother to come home.

"Oi," the boy voiced. He sounded really tired. Kagome hoped he had got some sort of shock from the cords. "Can you let me out? I was only kidding with you, that's all."

"Kidding?" she spat. "Listen, dog-boy, from around here we don't kid around with each other by chasing someone after said person just have woken up from whatever it had encountered. So for your record; no, I won't let you out until my mom comes home. Hopefully she's a good mother and immediately calls the police."

"Don't call me dog-boy, wench, I have a name you know."

"Oh? What a coincidence; so do I. 'Cause you see, I'm not really called wench or 'you'. My name is Kagome. Ka-go-me, learn it." 'Now,' she thought flustered, 'why did I tell the psycho my name?'

The boy made a huffing sound on the other side. "And mine isn't dog-boy, it's InuYasha."

She laughed sourly. "Well, the name suits you at least…"

The silence stretched between them. That kind of silence that felt so awkward that you finally can't take anymore.

"Why was you in my house, InuYasha?" she let her head rest on the wall behind her, but had the bat ready just in case. Whatever the boy was, he was definitely strong and a door did certainly not pose any bigger threat to him than a bumblebee did to her. A huge bumblebee, of course.

"I heard strange noises when I was searching for you from the park. Since your smell came from here I figured something happened and ran inside, finding you unconscious."

"Oh geez, thanks for telling me that I sm – Hold it! You _smelled_ me? From the _park_?" she asked bewildered. "First of all, it's humanly impossible to actually track someone by smell. Secondly, I haven't met you in the park." Kagome paused, urging him silently to explain. When no such thing came she took a deep breath. "InuYasha, what the hell are you?"


	10. Surprise

InuYasha pondered his answer for a moment. But when he was about to tell her the truth – as if she would believe him anyway, Kagome interrupted.

"You know what? Don't say it. I will just leave you there until mom comes home. THEN you will talk."

He heard her shift outside, probably getting a comfier position or getting something to do while guarding him. Listening intently he could hear the grandfather clock ding twelve times. Midnight.

It could have been worse, he figured. His sadistic older brother weren't here at least. And neither were that pesky wolf. He would never hear the end of it if one of them found out a girl had managed to look him in a basement.

It wasn't that he had any trouble with it; he could always tear the door to shreds if he wanted to, or maybe fake some sort of disease so she would run in to him. Kagome seemed like the type that had a heart too big for her own good.

But he couldn't do either of them. The girl had every right in the world do be afraid of him since she was confused, or because she had hit her head pretty badly. He could only imagine how she would react of he told her…

InuYasha imagined the horrified and confused expression she would have, and smirked. Well, in the morning she would find out, one way or another…

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><p>Kagome had been awake all night, waiting for her mother to come home. Not surprisingly she had come home with the first sunlight, dragging her feet behind her as if they were attached to two five kilos weights. Her mom didn't even notice Kagome until she heard a yelp of pain.<p>

"Hmm? Kagome!" the mother jumped so her daughter could drag her foot back. "What are you doing here? Have you been up all night? What's wrong?"

'So now she's worried?' the girl thought, but she let the baseball bat go and flung her into her mother's arms. "Mom!"

Her mother tensed for a moment, but soon her motherly instincts kicked in and she wrapped Kagome in a tight embrace, something both of them hadn't done in a while. "What's the matter Kagome?"

"Someone – unconscious – white hair – _dog ears_ – InuYasha – basement." The poor girl couldn't make sentences; only sob out a few words to her mother. To Kagome, whose mother hadn't hugged her like this in _years_, it felt as if all her fear and anger welled up in and out of her like when squeezing a tube of toothpaste.

"InuYasha? Is this InuYasha down there?" The older woman peered over her shoulder to look at the locked door behind her.

"Y-yes."

"Alright. Now listen, Kagome. You are going to stay up here while I go down and drag him up here, by the ears if i have to. Then we will call the police, okay hon?" Gently she stroke her daughter's teary face before she let go and turned the basement's lock. Before going down there she turned to her daughter. "And Kagome?"

"Yeah?" Kagome rubbed her eyes, and then saw into her mother's own teary eyes.

"I'm sorry."

Kagome saw her mother descend down the stairs and soon swallowed by the darkness. Suddenly afraid that the dog-boy – InuYasha – would attack her petite mother she dashed after her mother. But she didn't come far until she met her mother, who glared at her with a frown that said "what am I going to _do_ with you".

"Kagome. What is this?"


	11. Grounded Dog

Her mother had deep frowns on her forehead and her eyes had that irritated gleam in them that told Kagome she was on dangerous grounds. However, it was the Akita Inu dog in her hands that caught Kagome's attention.

"Well? What is the meaning of this?"

Kagome had no idea for herself. How the heck had a dog – no less the same dog from yesterday! – been able to sneak into her house? She felt a cold shiver run down her spine. Could a dog do what someone, something, had done to her? Now _that_ was a scary thought.

"Seriously? I – I have no idea," stammered the girl, stepping cautiously closer to the dog while scrutinizing it. The same dog, that's for sure. The same pure-white fur, the amber eyes that held the same promise of mischief in them. She stopped and lifted a slightly trembling hand to examine its cheeks. There, inside the thick fur, were a purplish like bruise. It was very strange, but the most strange thing was that the dog had something that reminded her off a smile. Not a "Hey, look at me! Am I not cute?". No, it was a look that said "So, what are ya gonna do, wench?"

"InuYasha?" she stammered. The dog answered with a low growl, it's eyes twinkling at her. _Definitively _InuYasha.

"InuYasha? Is this dog what you were afraid of?" Her mother scowled and looked down at the dog before returning her gaze to her daughter. She then held out the dog as if threatening Kagome with a sword. "Then your punishment for making me worry – take him."

Kagome stared at the dog's grinning features, startled at her mom's voice she turned to her. "Huh?"

"Your punishment for making me scared half to death at the thought that something had attacked you-"

"Something did!" the girl ahouted. "Someone really-"

"Then," her mother interrupted," this dog is your punishment. Since you like dogs oh so much, you won't have a problem with that now would you?"

Kagome's face turned pale. "T-this dog? But mama-"

"This dog is now your responsibility. Since you obviously need some lessons in it, see this dog as your homework. Feed it, bath it, train it and love it. Do all that and I will let you have him." Her mother caused. "Or I may let you have another dog if you can take care of this one for one week."

"Mama-"

Her mom raised her hand. "I don't want to hear it. I'm very disappointed in you Kagome, but I can also see my part in the matter. I haven't been here for you that often, and I'm sorry about that. I should have taught you what's right and what is wrong." Shoving the Inu-dog into Kagome's arms she stormed by her daughter, pausing at the top of the stairs. The elder woman glanced at Kagome over her shoulder. "One week, Kagome. Or I will send you off overseas."

Kagome stared at the disappearing form of her mother, when she felt the creature in her arms squirming. Glaring at the dog she was greeted by a soft growl, and a weird dog-grin.

"Oh, just shut up, InuYasha."


	12. Birthday Suit

I don't own InuYasha. If I did, I wouldn't have to go to school. InuYasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi

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><p>That evening InuYasha was exploring the new room known as Kagome's. The girl herself was sitting back-to-front in her desk chair with her elbows propped on the backrest, staring as the dog sniffed around the room. His tail wagged slowly as he sniffed at her laundry basket.<p>

"Don't you worry," she muttered. The snow white dog turned its attention to her, its large amber eyes silently annoying her. "That is clean laundry, thank you very much."

The dog gave her a dog-ish grin before he took up his route, this time stopping to sniff at her bed.

"So… you're a dog. Or something that is supposed to look like a dog in the morning, either way." Her voice sounded so _calm_, while her heart was practically thumping her blood around in her body in 500 kilometers per hour. He was a male, _human_ male, last night! And then it's a dog down their? Was she, finally, losing her mind?

The dog snorted once in her direction, then jumped onto the bed and tromped around in a little circle, before settling down with his head between his paws. If it weren't for the fact that this dog had something to do with the scary InuYasha from last night, then she would have thought it was cute.

"Maybe you're his dog in some way and he got out one way or another, leaving you down there." Kagome could hear the disbelief in her voice and the aching of believing such a ridiculous thing. A human came out but a small dog couldn't? Hilarious.

The akita inu seemed to think the same. Its eyes were half-closed and one eyebrow seemed to have risen, giving the girl opposite of him a _'Are you that stupid?' _look.

"Hey! It isn't everyday a guy becomes a dog, you know?" she muttered, earning another snort of agreement.

She watched as the dog –InuYasha – rolled over onto his back and started rolling over her blanket, before jumping up on all four and attacking her old penguin plush toy. Kagome didn't even bother telling him to stop devour it – she had this feeling that the dog would just continue with the rest of her room if she did.

"If you haven't noticed it already, my mom kind of assigned me to take care of you." The dog glanced at her, holding her loved penguin's head in its jaws. Kagome gulped. "So I would really appreciate it if you didn't bolt on me, and if you're InuYasha and are a real human I think I deserve a throughout explanation."

InuYasha tilted his head cutely at her. Cute, fluffy ears came into view; twitching at every sound and turning this and that way. Kagome felt how the temptation twitched her fingers. _Puppy ears, puppy-_

"Oh my God! You really are him!" she shrieked.

The dog sighed loudly and strolled over to her pillows and looked out the window. His ears twitched even more.

"What are you seeing?" the girl stood and pressed her face close to the window. The sun was setting and people were on their way home from school or their jobs. Nothing seemed to be out of the picture though. Minutes ticked by as she squinted her eyes and scanned the area after whatever the dog was looking at but finally she couldn't see anything. The sun was gone and only darkness was to be found outside.

"What are-"she asked and turned to glare at the damned dog, but the words clamped her throat shut. There wasn't a dog! She was staring at a naked boy! The very same naked boy who were there last night!

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><p>Oh my god. I felt kind of embarrassed to write the last part XuX<br>But funny? Yes, of course!

Please review!


	13. Sit!

"Oh my G-!" she started to shriek again, but the boy hurled himself at her and shut her mouth with his hand. Kagome found her back pressed against his chest (oh man, this boy had six-pack!), his left hand closed over her mouth to prevent her from screaming and the other hand holding her own in an iron grip. She could almost hear her eyes burst out of her eye sockets; was he going to rape her?

"This isn't what it looks like!" he hissed frantically at her. Kagome regarded him with one look full of fear and hatred, silently telling him to come up with a better excuse. "Fine, don't believe me! This happens every time I change back. You didn't really think my clothes would melt together into my body, did you?"

Of course she had! He was a boy that transformed into a dog, for Kami's sake! Why couldn't this little detail, created by her imagination, be true? Kagome squirmed in his hold, feeling really embarrassed and uncomfortable – it isn't every day a guy, a cute guy, throws himself at you. Naked, nonetheless.

"Stop that! I will release you, as long as you don't scream," he hissed into her ear. She felt his breath travel over her cheek and along her throat. Which only made her squirm more and more desperately. _'To close, to close!'_

"Hold still, damn wench!"

To his surprise she did. Not completely sure of her sudden change he let go of her slowly, ready to shut her up again. But she didn't scream. She didn't run either. No, the girl – Kagome – whirled around on her place, whipped out her hand and slapped him on his cheek.

"You damn inu _pervert_!" she snarled. Her cheeks were colored bright red and her fists were shaking from the force to not let her anger havoc. If she did, who knew what this crazy son of a dog would do to her?

"What pervert? It isn't like I was checking you out or anything, you are not even pretty!" he snapped back, angrily rubbing his cheek. He then recognized his mistake as he slowly took in the sight of her fierce eyes, her slightly flaring nostrils and her jaw working. An image of a bull seeing red came to mind at the sight.

"InuYasha…" she murmured, her voice dangerously low. He gulped, but on the outside took on a mask of indifference and annoyance. He was not going to let this girl- "Sit, damn dog!"


	14. Confessions

I don't own InuYasha. If I did... no school!

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><p>Instinctively InuYasha sat down, hands on the floor and his legs propped up on either side of him. Kagome stared wide-eyed at the sight of the dogman that had been nothing but rude since the very beginning – and now he responded as a real dog? Did as she said? Or, she mused silently, went back to the time when human still was a monkey. His stature at least resembled one.

"Seriously?" she asked, her mouth's corners turning upward into a huge grin. "You really are like a dog!"

He growled at her from the back of his throat, but he didn't meet her eyes. "It's not like I have any choice, a'right? You can't choose how you're born."

"You've got that right," Kagome muttered, her grin fading only a little. Then she became reminded of _exactly _what she was staring at as InuYasha sat down on his bum, his legs crossed over one another. "Now when we are talking about that," she continued while blushing furiously, turning around and opening her wardrobe, "mind telling me why you are half dog half man? Start with telling me about your parents."

InuYasha was quiet a long moment, giving himself time to find the right words and Kagome the time it took to rummage through her clothes after something big enough to cover the naked boy.

"I… didn't know my father," he began. "It was only me and my mother. Her name was Izayoi."

"Shouldn't you be with her then? I mean, since you said it was only you and her left?" Kagome tossed an oversized t-shirt. On her it reached a fair bit below her knees. On InuYasha however it would only reach a few short inches over his thighs. Damn.

"…she died when I was a kid, so it's kind of hard to stay by her side now." He muttered, plucking at imaginary strands in the shirt.

"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't know," she mumbled a little ashamed over herself. Facing the wardrobe once more she continued on her trek for something to cover his lower regions.

"Feh," he snorted and she heard the rustle as he pulled the shirt over his head. "How could you know, huh?"

She stayed quiet for the fear of saying something inappropriate again. Instead she focused on the old boxer shorts she had stolen from her father when she was five and mad at him – for what she didn't remember. Kagome wondered if she seemed like a little pervert girl if someone knew she had sneaked into her father's room, looked through his drawer and taken his favorite boxers. Hm, probably, but it wasn't like she had ever had the time to tell or give them back to him. Now however, she grabbed the shorts and threw them over her shoulder, hearing the sound as InuYasha grabbed them.

For the whole full minute InuYasha stayed quiet while dressing she pondered over the new information; his mom was dead, his father gone. Probably also dead. How had InuYasha, who seemed only slighter older than her, survived for so long? Had he been living on the streets all by himself, or had he been to an orphanage?

"I have an uncle though, so I lived with him until I was fourteen," he said. Kagome jumped and wondered silently if he had the ability to read thoughts as well.

"Why only until fourteen?"

She glanced over her shoulder when he didn't answer. He glared down at the floor, as if it had something to do with the cruel game of fate. Then he suddenly whipped his head up and glared into her blue eyes. "I really don't want to talk about it."

She started, but tried to hide the blush of regret paint her face by smiling at him softly. "Of course…"

He rose and strolled over to her bed, this time thankfully in the borrowed clothes. The shirt seemed like it was one size to small, while the boxers looked like they were on their way to slide down to the floor. _'Please, don't.'_

He threw himself on top of the bed and grunted in comfort, before he lay on his back to face the girl who stood and looked at him uncertainly. He smiled cockily at her.

"Don't worry. I don't bite – much."

She rolled her eyes at him and pushed aside the urge to show him her tongue, but figured she would seem like a real kid to him. _'Why do I care?'_ She took the safe option; she strolled and sat down on her office chair.

InuYasha's smile grew wider, but his eyes had taken a serious expression. He propped himself on his elbow and eyed her carefully. In a way that made Kagome's skin crawl – neither a good nor bad feeling.

"So," she said hurriedly, "why are you a dog again?"

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><p>A'right! A little spoiler about next chapter (maybe will change): Someone from the original series... well, I'm going to kill the character. I'm sorry! But I don't really feel like having that character around! It's just plain annoying -.-<br>So yeah - killing it is. But I'm going to give the character a worthy role in all this weird fluff-a lá-dog drama. Or something like that xD

Please review!


	15. Whimper

Hello guys! As you know I don't own InuYasha. If I did however, I wouldn't have to go to school. InuYasha characters belongs to Rumiko Takahachi.

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><p>It was a really awkward night. Kagome lay in her own bed, her sheets tucked tightly around her, while InuYasha sat cross legged, opposite of Kagome's bed and with his back leaning against the wall behind him. She had offered an extra bed for him, but he had refused and asked if she wanted her mom to suspect she had someone in her room at night. Which, InuYasha knew, Kagome would rather die than have her mom snooping around in her room.<p>

'_Besides', he had said, 'I sleep rarely and lightly.'_

'_Hmm… just like a dog with other words?' she had responded and smiled. A annoyed 'feh' and the soft clatter as he sat down and leaned against the wall before closing his eyes._

She had quite a lot to think about. The spot about his dog-genes were a raw one and nothing she should poke at and examine under a magnifying glas. But as InuYasha had explained why he was both dog and human, she had found so many similarities with one that she couldn't help it; the way he tilted his head when he didn't understand, the way he sat – remarkably alike a canine, when he was annoyed, embarrassed or sad his ears would lay flat on his scalp. Those little things that made the dog-man InuYasha.

'_Thank Kami he doesn't behave completely like one,_' Kagome thought and shuddered under her blankets as she imagined InuYasha on all fours and slowly raising his right leg higher and higher until-

'_Please, brain! Don't complete that thought!'_

She sighed and rolled over on her other side and started as she saw the boy tremble. She tensed when she heard a soft cry escape his lips and his brows narrow in a terrified and sorrowful expression. The gruff and strong InuYasha was in pain? Could it have been when he had talked about his past?

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><p><em>Kagome felt awkward with having a boy on her bed. Especially a boy that she didn't quite like, but couldn't hate either. It felt even more awkward to see him stretch – in her father's boxers and her t-shirt – and look completely at ease. As if he belonged right there. Which, Kagome knew, he did not.<em>

"_I don't know how I became like this," he said and wrinkled his forehead. "The only person ever that talked to me about these things were my mother. And, in some matter, my brother." He had wrinkled his forehead even more, this time in annoyance._

"_A brother?" she had exclaimed. "You have a brother? Just like you?"_

_He had shot up and glared at her furiously, his hands flexing as if could feel the claws extending. "Hell no! I hate that bastard!"_

_Kagome had sighed and looked at him tiredly. "I meant, does you look like him? Or is he your younger brother?"_

"_No," he had gritted, laying back down, ""He's my older brother, which I blame the Gods for, and the only things that resembles me on him is his hair and eyes."_

_She had tasted the thought for a moment. So InuYasha wasn't completely alone, even though he didn't seem to really like this brother. But even so, Kagome and Souta hadn't been the best of friends and still been on friendly terms with each other._

"_Why aren't you with him then?"_

_InuYasha had huffed and glared (istappar) at her. "Didn't ya hear me? I hate that damn Sesshomaru! He always tries to kill me every time we met."_

'_Sesshomaru – Killing Perfection,' she had thought before her lazy brain registered what InuYasha just had said. "What? He tries to _kill_ you? Why?"_

"_Why do you think? Of course because I am his half-brother and thereby a mongrel from his side of view."_

_Out of nowhere two hands clasped his face and forced him to meet the belonging eyes. He was so surprised that he nearly choked as furious blue eyes stared into his own amber. _

"_Don't you ever dare to say something like that! You are not a half breed, he is not perfect and I'm sure that he is only awed by you!"_

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><p>That had been the truth: she was sure that this Sesshomaru only tried to kill – kill, for Kami's sake! – InuYasha because of something the little brother had that the older didn't. She blushed as she remembered how InuYasha had stared at her strangely before making his usual 'feh' and taking her hands away from his face.<p>

Kagome eyed the sleeping InuYasha again and noticed how a tear slipped down his cheek. She couldn't take it anymore.

She sat up slowly, taking his word on his sleeping habit, and gently dragged the blanket of her. She hissed under her breath as her toes med the ghostly cold floor and silently cursed her mother for forgetting the heating. Kagome then gently tip-toed over to InuYasha and crouched in front of him. Should she wake him up? Or should she just leave him be? She had heard about that sleep-walking persons could be violent if you woke them up, but how about someone dreaming violently; letting the dreams take over his body?  
>She voted for the latter; she crawled as quietly as she could to sit at his right side and continued to watch as InuYasha's lower lip quivered.<p>

"Myoga…" she heard him cry once more.

Myoga?


	16. Cute Pervert

She woke up the next morning with a sleeping snow white dog, its head in her lap. This dog known as InuYasha was still clothed in the clothes he had worn the night before, and to see the dog in those big clothes gave him such an air of cuteness that Kagome unconsciously rubbed his belly, earning a delighted sigh and a tail wag. It would have been cute for o so much longer – if her rear not had fallen asleep, her lap not was overheating from the 100 degrees radiating of dog-fur and if not InuYasha suddenly had bolted up and away from her which made her fall face first to the floor, since only the dog had been holding her up for so long.

"Ouch…" she grumbled as she rose and rubbed her nose. Glaring accusingly at the dog (that tail is still wagging!, she thought furiously.) she pointed at the floor. "From now on, you will continue to sleep here while I sleep in that oh so luxurious bed over there. Then you can heat up the floor all you want, without getting anything roasted."

The dog grinned at her, tilting its head slightly and raising an invisible eyebrow at her. _Just how am I heating you up?_

"Oh, pervert." Kagome muttered and crawled over to her bed. With a heavy sigh of contempt she lowered and relaxed at the soft material. Beds – humankinds best invention EVER.

Her little time in heaven however came to an abrupt halt as the dog jumped up on the bed and laid its surprisingly heavy body on hers. She felt the dogs hot breath ghost over her skin and into her face as the dog scrambled to stay in place under her futile attempts to get up.

"Ugh, InuYasha! You seriously need some kind of toothbrush! I've never smelt something that bad before! And what's with your weight? You need to stop chewing on stones or whatever in the world you eat!" She huffed and wriggled, but to no use. The dog leered down at her before turning his attention to the door. Jumping down on the floor he nudged on the door before staring at her with wide puppy eyes. In that moment the dog's stomach rumbled.

"Right. You're still some kind of mammal so of course you need to eat," Kagome huffed before settling with some kind of 'The Thinker' pose. Glaring at the still wide-eyed dog she took a deep breath when InuYasha's soft ears perked at the sound.

'Must… resist… to… cuddle…' She gritted her teeth, stood up and stretched, all the while ignoring the huge amber eyes viewing her. No way would InuYasha let her pet his person, not if she wanted to keep all of her fingers.

"So. What do you eat in your dog-form? 'Cause I really can't serve you anything that resembles human if my mom is still home," she rolled her eyes at the thought," but I don't want you throwing up either. So shall we compromise?"

The dog stared at her. A thin line of drool started dropping from the corner of its mouth and drooped onto one of her discarded shirts. Cute.

"This is what we do – I make some noodles with bits of chicken and then I smash it all together so it will be similar to dog food, just in case. And since I'm doing all of this for _you_, baka dog, you won't jump onto me anymore and I will let you live and eat here, until you find another home. Deal?"

The dog didn't answer. Instead he turned his head to the door and then back at her, one eyebrow raised. _Get on with it!_


	17. Unexpected

I disclaim any rights to the InuYasha series. It belongs solely to Rumiko Takahashi.

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><p>InuYasha had a bottomless stomach. Kagome watched with mixed disgust and amazement as he gulped down yet another bowl of smashed egg noodles and chicken. He licked the remaining bits and spills before his long tongue licked his muzzle clean. Then the akita inu turned its attention to Kagome and barked.<p>

"Finally done?" she sighed. "Seriously, no wonder you've bad breath."

He glowered at her and lifted his nose up high in a very '_At least I don't…_' gesture.

"Really? Then what do I have that you don't want?" she teased him, before she gave the dog a flick on his forehead.

The dog yipped at her for touching him, but relaxed soon into his own teaching glamour and trotted to her. He lifted a front paw and held it for a while for her to see, before he distinctly put it down onto her knee.

"What? That's rude! Who wouldn't want to be me?"

InuYasha made his little dog-smirk again and turned on his heel to investigate the interesting kitchen cabinets.

"Oh, shut up! So, what if I don't have a computer for my own and the one we have is so old it should be at some museum? We have got one at least, dog-boy." InuYasha snorted at her and went on investigating the recycle bin. Kagome followed him. "And so what if I don't own a cellphone like everyone else? We have a phone here at home that works just fine. What about that I don't have as much money as my friends, so I can't go out on Friday nights? It isn't like I do have any real friends to go out with anyway." Her playful smile bleached as she went on. InuYasha turned his huge amber eyes to scrutinize her sudden change.

"So what about my mom works all the time so she never meets me at day? She must work so we won't have to live on the streets. So what if that workaholic behavior is because dad died when I was little? He couldn't help he had cancer, right? So what about that my kid brother died two years ago and that my grandpa died shortly after?" By now she was sobbing. InuYasha tip toed up to her side, staring up into her tear streaked face.

"What about I have never been lonelier in my life before?" Kagome couldn't take it anymore. She sank to her knees and threw her hands over her face, all the while sobbing and trembling.

InuYasha paced back and forth, wanting to get away from the overload of female hormones, but also wanting to help her. Finally he did the only thing he could think of; he reached forward and licked her cheek.

She gasped and pulled back slightly to stare at the dog, who stared back at her with its light brows turned down in a sad face. Kagome smiled palely and stroke his head.

"I hope that wasn't what I thought it was, little brother."


	18. The Brother

**I don't own InuYasha.**

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><p>Kagome froze at the deep baritone voice, but InuYasha jumped in front of her directed toward the interrupter. Slowly she turned her head and stared at the most beautiful man in the world; long white silken hair, with golden eyes just like InuYasha – although this man's were lighter, clearer it seemed. His strange markings – a crescent moon and stripes on his cheeks – made him all the more beautiful. If you didn't notice his claws, that is.<p>

InuYasha growled deep in his chest, white razor-sharp teeth glinting menacingly. Fur on end and his tail held low to the floor, he gave a short angry bark at the man. He, however, didn't care much for the threatening dog. Instead he had his eyes focused on Kagome.

"Clearly you are still socialize with the downpour, little brother? Though I have to admit that this one is prettier than the last one." He smirked at her and Kagome could have sworn her heart froze to ice at the look in his eyes.

InuYasha choose to jump at the man in that moment, biting hard into his right arm. Kagome let out a yelp of surprise and scurried backwards until she hit the kitchen counter, but the man however didn't even blink. He glanced at the still biting dog, its white fur being splotched with the other male's blood.

"Little brother," he said slowly, his every word dripping with venom, "you still believe you are strong enough to take me on?"

Faster than Kagome could take in he twirled, InuYasha still hanging from his arm, and threw out his arm. The sudden gravity got InuYasha to let go, flying over Kagome's head and smashing into the refrigerator.

"InuYasha!" Hurriedly she scurried over to the whining dog and (((böjde sig))) down to pick him up in her lap. After a quick check for injuries (no broken bones, thank God) she turned angry eyes to the man.

"Hey, you! How dare you just show up in my home without an invitation! I can't really remember giving any to you, mister! And how dare you attack my dog like that!"

One of his eyebrows rose. "On the contrary; it seems to me that I was the one who got attacked first."

"Whatever! He was just protecting me, you long haired weirdo; that's what he do!" she spat at him.

The other delicately groomed eyebrow went up. "Pray tell, girl; what makes you think that is what that… _mutt_ is supposed to do?"

The word was full of bile, practically spat out on the ground before her, something that to him was barely worth stepping on. Kagome shuddered as her insides squirmed at the frosty tone. This however, only fueled her anger more.

"Now you listen to me loud and clear!" she hissed, gently laying InuYasha back on the ground before standing up and marching up to the tall man. He let his eyebrows fall now, only the tiniest hint of a frown showing his dislike of her person. She gave a little huff at the look.

"This is my home," she pointed at the floor," that is my dog." Her finger traveled to the silver beast behind her, her eyes not leaving the intruder for even a moment. "So I suggest that while you're in my home you follow the rules and don't insult anyone within it. Is that clear, _mister_?"

As the sun set Kagome saw how his face got darker with every passing second, while his silver hair seemed to glow out of its own power, flowing from the very rots. She also felt how her heart sped up as he didn't retaliate at her, didn't even sneer. Why hadn't he said something yet?

Then suddenly he moved; a tiny flicker as he glanced behind her. "InuYasha," he drawled. "Who is this human to you? If I did not know better I would say that you, both of you, care for one another. And you also seem to love her."

_What?_ Kagome could barely contain the eep that threatened to escape her mouth, her cheeks warming at his words. _Also seem to love her_.

"What value you see in a human, _another_ human on top of that, is beyond my expertise." He cast an ugly yet curious lock at her, now his glowing hair losing the light. "What is it with humans that makes them so interesting to you and father?"

She heard a grunt behind her and upon turning her eyes lit on a once again naked teenager, with small puppy ears on his forehead. An ugly bruise was forming on his abdomen, but he didn't seem to care as he slowly rose to his full height. Kagome, having full excess to his body by now, eeped for real now and shut her eyes tightly and snapped her head back so she was facing the intruder.

"Oh for the love of-"she heard her dog growl. "Yeah, I'm male – get over it!"

"W-what 'get over it'? You're butt naked, in my kitchen, in front of me, who hasn't even had my first kiss yet, and there is this- this-" she struggled to get all her words out, her embarrassment tripping her tongue as she continued to hold her eyes shut, until a thought occurred to her," –brother?"

Silence stretched. She hesitated but chanced a peek at the male in front of her. Kagome instantly wished she hadn't.

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><p><strong>Tralala~ Cliffhanger!<br>Please preview! **


	19. Countdown

**I don't own InuYasha. It belongs solely to Rumiko Takahashi.**

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><p>She was met by the icy glare of the man before her, his golden eyes narrowed in disgust.<p>

"Unfortunately, yes," InuYasha sighed somewhere behind her back. She didn't dare to turn, to see his naked skin practically glowing in the distant light of the moon hovering outside. Furiously blushing she inclined her head. "Kagome, this 'ere is my big brother Sesshomaru."

"Sesshomaru?" _Killing Perfection_. She chanced a peek at the man, Sesshomaru. Someone had made a bull's-eye naming this cold man.

"_Half_-brother," the Sesshomaru person corrected with a hiss, glaring arrows over her shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever bastard." InuYasha growled back.

Sesshomaru chuckled then, a chilling sound no living soul should ever be allowed to hear. "'Bastard' I may be, but you, little brother, are the son of a bastard, disgrace to our race. I'm sadly glad your _mother_ won't have to watch you grow up into… whatever _you_ are."

He had barely finished that sentence when a growling ball of white hair flew past Kagome, who eeped and hide her face in her hands.

Kagome heard several hisses and growls and – she twitched and flinched – the distinct sound of breaking wood and the loud smashing of glass breaking. Her heart throbbed as she heard something, or someone, get thrown out of the room, landing hard on the floor in the hall. The telltale sound of moaning planks as they were abused along with whatever hit them.

With every new sound of breaking, cursing and smashing her finger's dug deeper and deeper into her face, desperately trying to keep her from seeing what would be left of her home, or of the two fighters.

"Stop it…" she whispered powerlessly, only to be answered by more curses and a howl of pain.

"Die, InuYasha!" the older brother's voice sounded as if he was complimenting an extraordinary beautiful painting. She could almost see his cold smile behind her eyelids

"Stop it!" Kagome screamed as she let go of her face and opened her eyes. And stared at her kitchen.

The table that had been in her family for generations was split in two, splinters and smaller bits of wood littering around. Only one chair was left alive, the other three was destroyed to nothing but fragments of what they once were. Turning around slowly her eyes lit on her refrigerator whose door hang sadly and swayed back and forth. In front of it on the floor lay several products of food; milk and juice mixed together to an indescribable puke-like substance containing of cracked eggs, vegetables and different kinds of meat.  
>Beside the refrigerator lay her microwave. It blinked and cracks sounded from it before it let out a little huff of smoke before its light died down.<p>

It was eerily quiet in the house. In the back of her mind Kagome thought to herself who had died of the two brothers. While staring at her destroyed kitchen she couldn't muster up the will to care. However, low in her stomach she felt something warm and sickening start to boil, higher and higher until it exploded.

"You two! Look what you've done with my kitchen – my mom is going to kill me! You get her before I count to ten or I will personally kick your asses out of my house!" She screamed and then stood huffing, listening. Nothing met her ears, not even heavy breathing or moaning.

"Fine! One…" Kagome crossed her arms over her chest, attempting to hold her temper in check but failing miserably. Nothing could be heard in the house.

"Two…" she dragged the word out slowly, like one would do with a sword. Not fast and recklessly – that could result in a cut of hand – but slow and steady, keeping your eye on the foe.

"Three… I'm warning you!" Her foot started to stomp irritated. Still not a sound.

"Four… five… six…" The words rolled of her tongue, her ears straining to hear something, anything. She could feel how the hot anger rolling of her in waves, slowly dying down to only irritation. Not daring to glance at the refrigerator or the microwave in fear of doing something ruthless to the brother's. Like, killing them.

"Seven… eight… nine…" Not a sound, except for the refrigerator's wheezing as it puffed out cooling chemicals into the room. Kagome closed her eyes and frowned.

"Ten…"

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><p><strong>Well. This chapter is not the best I have made, but I wanted to somehow let Kagome's rage rain on those idiots! How would you have reacted if two brother's (cutesexy as they may be) suddenly started fighting, tearing down YOUR kitchen, and maybe your whole house, in the process? They are DANGEROUS damnit, you can't attack them with your hands. What to do then?**  
><strong>Well, I for one hope to find out how she is supposed to make those herks pay for it...<strong>

**Please review! **


	20. Gone

**I don't own InuYasha characters. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi.**

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><p>When Miss Higurashi came home late that night she noticed three things. One was that her hall and a larger part of her kitchen were in ruins. Picking up a broken porcelain vase, which her father-in-law had said was an ancient heirloom – though she had always suspected it to be some cheap knick-knack that had been bought in a Second Hand store – she couldn't help but let a few tears leak down her stunned face. Staring unseeingly with wide leaking eyes at the gawking peacock at the broken piece, memories of a much smaller child came to mind.<p>

"_Mama! Mama!" Raven hair bobbed on the other side of the kitchen counter, desperately trying to get the young mother's attention._

_She smiled and continued to chop the carrots for their dinner. "What is it, Kagome?"_

_The bobbing stopped momentarily before it suddenly disappeared. Curious Mrs. Higurashi tilted her head and ducked her head over. There, on the wooden floor, sat little Kagome, big droplets of salty tears streaming down her chubby cheeks. Her blue eyes was hidden behind her thick bangs of raven hair, and now and then Mrs Higurashi could see the small shoulders tremble with hiccups. _

_Alarmed she rounded the counter, sat down beside her daughter and gathered her up in her lap. "What is it, love?"_

_Kagome hiccupped twice before she succeeded in answering. "Mama, is Kagome a bad girl?"_

_Dumbfounds settled over the mother, before she laughed and hugged the little girl tightly. "Of course you aren't! Why do you ask?"_

_Her daughter then opened her chubby little hands and showed her the remains of her mother's favorite pearl necklace. "It broke."_

Blinking rapidly, both from tears and memories, she chuckled lightly without any amusement. _Oh, Kagome._

Then she perked and looked around her widely. "Kagome?" Her feet took command over her body before she had ordered them to; running they led her upstairs and only stopped when they came to stand in front of her daughters room. Breathing hard she stared at the door, almost imagining it bursting open at any moment when her daughter would come to greet her. But no such thing happened.

Would she dare to open it? She raised a trembling hand to take hold of the doorknob. What would she do if she did and her daughter not was there? What would she do if this room looked like the kitchen, or worse? Maybe if she didn't open this door her daughter might still be here somewhere, if she did not open the door and crush that hope. But if she didn't…

One more deep breath and she went in. The second thing she noticed was that there was no dog anywhere; whatever had happened to that "InuYasha" dog, he was nowhere in sight. Only the familiar white walls, with two equally white curtains and a light blue bedding. No snow white dog who laid on it however.

Slowly letting her gaze wander she hoped with all her heart, all her soul, with her whole being, that her daughter would be sitting at the old desk, maybe even hunched over it in sleep from being up studying all night again. No such thing met her, which led her to conclusion number three; her family, her only daughter, had disappeared.

Falling to her knees she stared at the empty room, before she lifted her trembling fingers to her face. Letting her head fall into those scarred palms she began to cry for real.

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><p><strong>Tadaam! A filler chapter! Heh, thougt it would be important to know how le mother thought about everything. Hopefully I got her feelings out right (_)<br>**Either way, please review! Love to open hotmail and *poof* you've got a review! Love you guys who have reviewed before this chapter - it's those mails that makes my day glittering with rainbows and unicorns neigh in the distance.  
><strong>Or something like that (u)<strong>


	21. Abduction

**I don't own InuYasha characters, although this story is mine. InuYasha series and le characters is Rumiko Takahashis.**

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><p>This place was incredibly depressing. The windows couldn't have been cleaned for what seemed like ages and the curtains-! The very look on them indicated that they had once been white with yellow flowers, but now they were more… <em>grey<em>-looking. Like a pair of curtains that were supposed to resemble granite.

Kagome shuddered and wrapped her arms around her small frame. How she had ended up in this disgusting, depressing, degraded room – if it was, it could as well be a toolshed – she didn't know. Where she was, she didn't care to know. Not now at least. What she did want to know however was _why_ she was here, 'cause she was onehundred-fiftytwo point fifty five precent sure she hadn't sleepwalked here. Or maybe she had? But shouldn't her mother had told her at least once in her lifetime then, if Kagome had tendencies for sleepwalking?

In one corner sat a filthy doll. A filthy rug of a teddy bear to be precise. That had lost one of is button-eyes. Who was currently staring at her with the same dejected feeling Kagome herself had in the pit of her stomach.

_At least_, she thought and looked down in her lap, tears starting to gather in her eye corners, _I've got my eyes left. For now. _

Thinking back to what she could remember, she knew she had been counting. That seemed like a pretty pointless thing to do now – who counts to ten in hope of not attacking some inhumane, superhuman thing that were currently assaulting your kitchen? She also remembered reaching number ten, but then a soaring pain in her forehead had stopped her from even _trying _to stop those _things_.

In her little filthy room she could hear the pitter-patter of rain outside somewhere. Her mom had probably been home for a few hours if you could tell from the slowly increasing light from outside. She had probably not even noticed the kitchen's current state or that her daughter was gone – Kagome could bet that her mom had walked straight to bed before collapsing.

When tears formed in her eyes this time it was out of anger. Anger at her mom, anger at the kitchen-assaulters, but most of all – she was angry at herself for ever letting that stupid half-dog, half-human thing into her house.

At least the someone – if the feeling in her gut had right – who had taken her here had been kind enough to leave her a mattress to sit on. Filthy as everything else, but you took what you could find, right? Even if it looked as if something had crawled and clawed on it before it laid down to die at it. Functional, at least, if not tidy.

A picture on the well caught her attention for a moment and she rose slowly, limping lightly as she walked towards it, before squinting her eyes.

It was an old photo, from the looks of it. Dust and spider web clouded the picture, so after a little thought she took her sleeve and wiped carefully at the glass. Forms started to appear and she squinted once more.

It was three persons, it seemed like; two children and one male adult. The man was clad in an old overcoat with frills, his light hair knotted in a ponytail high up on his head. Dark streaks on his cheeks pointed toward a stiff set mouth. The eyes were piercing, even in the old picture; if you didn't know better the man could have been alive.

Following his left arm, where it lay on the tallest child's shoulder, she frowned. The same long and light-colored hair, but it was let loose. An elfin ear pointed out of the smooth hair, identical – but more smother – streaks laid on his cheekbones. The same stiff, if not stiffer, mouth as the adult and the same piercing eyes.

She blinked once, twice, before she followed the child's facial lines carefully. She _knew_ this boy, but that simply wasn't possible; this photo must be at least a hundred years old! Maybe she was overthinking this; maybe the boy only resembled someone she knew.

The smaller boy on the picture however, made her mind go blank. Larger, more telling eyes, unruly light hair hiding most of his face. No streaks was on his face, but instead he had two puppy ears on top of his head. A gruff look on his face completed the picture.

_It isn't possible_, she thought sluggishly. _It simply isn't possible!_

Right then a door opened into her room. The creak from it was enough to make her jump and twirl around.

"What _are_ you?" she asked InuYasha.

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><p>Yay. Or something. Feel like crap like now. Very well, enjoy.<p>

Please review!


	22. Attack First, Talk Later

**Haha~ Having a schoolbreak, for a whole weak! Ah, life is sweet~  
><strong>I don't own InuYasha characters. Those belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

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><p>He stared at her for a full minute, not saying anything as his golden gaze lingered on her, burned holes into her own blue ones. Kagome started twitching under his scrutiny, not daring to meet his golden eyes straight on; as if afraid she would actually catch on fire if she did. She got the distinct feeling that his stare was poking at her, urging her to say anything more. Glancing around herself wildly for anything she could look at except him, she chose the old photograph of the family of males. Taking it down from the wall she turned slowly toward him.<p>

"What are you?" she asked again quietly and turned the photo around, pointing at the picture on the smallest child in it.

Still he did not answer. Instead InuYasha sighed heavily and leaned against the doorframe, before letting his body slide down it until he met the floor. There he gathered his legs to his body and hugged them tightly. Kagome followed his gesture unconsciously, sitting down next to the wall with the photo in her lap. She waited for him to say anything, staring over his head as she did. Vaguely she wondered how badly wounded he was; hadn't he been in a fight not so long ago? Or had she been knocked out so long that those had already healed?

Then the puppy eared boy rose his gaze slowly, meeting hers. "I'm not human, if that's what you're indicating."

She glowered at him and raised an eyebrow. "I _kind of_ figured that out already." Letting her voice drop the sarcasm, she asked more seriously, "Then, what are you?"

More quietness. It was ear-piercing to not hear the loud and harsh boy she had got acquainted with, to not hear him say how stupid she looked or didn't command her to do this and that.

She chanced a glance at his face, only to be met by his own stare. Embarrassed with getting caught peeking she glared down at the photo. Trying to ignore the cold sweat running down the side of her face she looked up again.

He was still staring at her, but it was like if he couldn't see her, like he was watching through her to a faraway place. Maybe he was reflecting on whether or not to tell her, or maybe he was thinking of something else. _Or someone else_, her mind whispered sadly to her.

_InuYasha's lower lip quivered. _

"_Myoga…" she heard him cry once more._

She shuddered; this was not the time to become sentimental.

"That- I can't-"

Kagome looked at him again, this time his eyes were looking at her, really looking at her. His eyes were wild and darting this way and that, his puppy ears twitching and swirling. The look of a caged animal, afraid of death but prepared to fight for his life.

"It's okay; you don't have to tell me."

Both of them rose their heads in surprise at her spoken words; InuYasha because she complied so easily, and Kagome because she couldn't believe she let such a golden moment go. Flying out of the dirty window, that was what happened.

He crawled towards her fast, going on his hands and knees like a toddler. Only when Kagome recoiled from him did he stop, a few feet from her, staring at Kagome for a moment before sighing heavily.

"Idiot… I'm not going to hurt you," he snorted, feigning disinterest as he sat down on his bum. Kagome could see the hurt in his eyes however.

"Of course not," she huffed and raised her chin, "You aren't going to since you can't."

He shot her a dirty look. "What was that?

"You heard me."

Puppy ears twitching he sat back into toddler-position, or for the moment a more feral position. Lion prepared for attack, more likely. "I don't think I did; please repeat it for me." His muscles rippled under his dark t-shirt.

"You," she pointed at him, slightly bending forwards, pronouncing each word loud and clear, "Cannot. Hurt. Me."

He smirked then, a fang playing in the corner of his mouth. "Now you've done it." Then he lunged for her.

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><p>Sesshomaru was furious. No, not furious. Silently-disliking-his-current-situation, more likely. He could still not believe how his brother – <em>half<em>-brother – could care so much about a human, even though he was part of it himself. InuYasha, that is. Sesshomaru, the strong, alpha-male Sesshomaru, was a pure one; nothing in him was that of a ningen. Why their father had chosen to breed yet another son, with a _human woman_, was beyond Sesshomaru's brilliant intellect. Why he chose to throw away Sesshomaru for the smaller boy was also something he didn't understand.

Now however, it was not his father he was angry at. Maybe just a tad bit since he was part of the problem known as InuYasha. No, InuYasha was the receiver of Sesshomaru's wrath this time.

'_Like father, like son.'_

He snorted loudly at the suitable description. Snorted with dignity, of course. He stretched his long limbs and rose gracefully from the old sofa from where he had been telling his little brother of for being such a brat and unintelligent being, only an hour ago. Where the boy had gone then, he didn't care. If he had left, again, then fine; Sesshomaru could track him, no problem. InuYasha knew what was waiting for him if he did however.  
>What he did care about was what he was supposed to do with a ningen woman, InuYasha's "owner", as she had called herself. Letting her anger take the better of her, she had sprinted to where the brother's was currently panting heavily – Sesshomaru was perfectly fine, he only let his more gruff brother regain some dignity – and of course the stupid human had tripped on something (had it been that suspicious looking smashed egg or the guilty looking table leg, lying on the floor) and hit her head on the floor with a loud <em>thud<em>.

Sesshomaru sighed heavily. Why, oh _why_, had he let his brother take the ningen with him? Why had he looked into those eyes, so alike his own, and not been able to tell him no? This whole situation was giving him a headache.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose he jumped slightly at the sound of a light shriek. A woman's shriek. A girl's shriek. Immediately he strode over the room, ignoring the lumps of staring dust and the insufferable red thing his brother called a _computer_. Turning left he hurried, no, _stalked _to the door from where said shrieks were coming from. Listening intently for more sounds that could designate exactly what was happening (murder? Rape? Horrifying torture?), he heard laughter. His brother's.

He tensed, reached for the door handle and wrenched the door open.

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><p><strong>Oh my, what are InuYasha and Kagome doing? Heh, hard to figure out. Not. Maybe?<br>Well, either way - got to say I love to portray Sesshy this way; like a pompous thingie that need to smooth everything he says. Example: "Sesshomaru was furious. No, not furious. Silently-disliking-his-current-situation, more likely." Ah, how fun!  
>Thanks for reviews last time, and please do review more! <strong>


	23. The Wonder of Crap

**Hello there! Sorry for the absence for... a week! D8**  
><strong>But, to make up for that, I'm letting out this chapter - with almost 2000 words! That's like... 1200 words more than the last one! So, please, enjoy! <strong>

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><p>The door barged open, letting what little light had been in the hall to flood this storage room. Sesshomaru stared straight ahead and waited for the moment when his little brother would notice him and come barging, demanding to know what he was doing. He smirked at the thought, knowing exactly what his answer would be.<p>

_I'm babysitting two toddlers, for what it seems, _or_ What am I doing? Well, I'm not attacking a defenseless girl._ Ah, yes. His brother would definitely become flustered and oh so angry.

But soon his smile turned into a frown. No fuming little brother was jumping up and down in front of him, not even the stomping or shouting were heard. Only his brothers taunting laughter was heard.

Sesshomaru slowly turned his head to the side, taking in the dirty window, the old mattress and other dumped things no one could tell what it was anymore. He stared some more, now at the floor by the wall.

The girl was lying flat on her back on the floor and kicking with all her might, her pajama smoldered by the icky things lying on the floor. But that however, was not what made Sesshomaru's eyebrows rise. No, what made him suddenly smile was his little brother who sat on top of the girl, the boy's legs on either side of her small frame. He was pinching her cheeks and dragging them to either side, making her face look like an eerily version of a clowns. The girls was gripping, clawing and slamming at the hands on her cheeks, his face, everything really – but Sesshomaru knew that although his brother was weaker than the full breeds, he was capable of withstanding her weak blows.

"Say you're sorry!" InuYasha growled. Sesshomaru could not see what expression he had, but his guess would be a toothy smile. A toothy, teasing and non-forgiving smile. But Sesshomaru never guessed of course, he knew. The lowest he ever got was to "assume", but that was only on rare occasions.

"Nevel! I will just say it mole; you can't, you can't, you can't!" the girl shouted back, her words told with a slight slurring as InuYasha stretched her cheeks even wider, causing her to whimper and thrash around more.

"Wha' was that? I don't think I heard ya right!" he laughed at her. Sesshomaru cringed over how bad his brother's vocabulary was, once again amazed over how the boy could be related to himself.

He watched them struggle for a moment, just for his own amusement, but then when InuYasha seemed to stretch the girls cheeks a little too long (bloodhound look, anybody?) he reached with his elegant left arm down, grabbed the boys collar and yanked him up and over his head.

The boy, not sensing his brother at all, let out a surprised yelp as he sailed through the air and pummeled into an old bookcase, taking it down with him in a heap on the floor. Dust sailed up in the dusky light from the hall; glinting and swirling as it seem to settle into a crown around the half-breeds head.

Sesshomaru smirked and raised his left arm, took hold of a few loose strands of hair that had escaped his ponytail and put them in place behind his ear. Glancing behind him he saw the girl panting heavily on the floor, limbs spread wide and her chest raising and falling rapidly as she struggled for air. Of course, Sesshomaru was not checking her chest out, mind you; he was simply amazed how much air such a small body could crave for itself.

"B-bas-tard…"

Glancing forward once more he saw his little brother pushing odd looking tableware, books, devices and other suspicious looking objects off of his person, all the while cursing and grumbling under his breath.

"Ah! Little brother, there you are," he said, slowly letting his arm fall back down. "Would you know, I just saw the biggest insect I've ever seen? This… _girl_ here was screaming so heartbreakingly I just had to rush in here to see what she was up to. And there, crawling all over her, were a white bug, practically devouring her!"

"Oi, what's that-"

"Of course I disposed of it quite fast; although I cannot say this… little _girl_ find it quite fast enough, seeing as she only lays there like another ragdoll." He turned his head in the girl's direction, seeing her trying to get up on her knees. Shooting a quick glance at his brother, he smirked slightly at the look of remorse on the boy's face. Was he regretting jumping her now?

He smirked wider, but toned it down as InuYasha looked back at Sesshomaru with narrowed eyes; instead the older took on a frowning and displeased look. Sesshomaru clicked his tongue at InuYasha and turned his back at him. He took two long, and naturally graceful, strides over to the girl, bent down and picked her up.

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><p>Kagome felt as if her cheeks had four doubled in size; she was sure that if she looked in a mirror she would see a bulldog. With cheeks big as an airplane's wings. Touching them lightly, not feeling anything, she slowly tried to sit up on her knees. But the action failed as the strength in her legs were completely gone, probably because of all her fruitless kicking or from the pacing before InuYasha's entrance. Speaking of which, she could hear him and another male talk to each other in the room. InuYasha sounded annoyed and surprisingly confused, while the other male, whose voice was a delicious baritone, , sounded teasing and all high and mighty. Who it was, she didn't care. But, she did have a slight memory of something unpleasant.<p>

Suddenly the unpleasant came crashing back as the founder of the unpleasant memory picked her up and cradled her against his chest. She gasped and flailed after something to hold on to. Which just happened to be a strong neck. Which just happened to belong to a beautiful man, which also just happened to be the bastard who attacked her home last night!

She stared up at him, forgetting her arms position for a moment as fear crawled up her back like cold kisses. He stared back at her, no expression whatsoever. But that changed as he glanced over his shoulder, a teasing smile painted on his features.

Unable to resist herself she peeked over his shoulder at InuYasha, who stared back into her blue orbs, a dumbfounded look on his face.

"See now, little brother?" His chest rumbled and made her jump slightly, causing his grip on her to harden. She gulped. "This is what you do for a damsel in distress, not jumping her the first thing you do."

He sighed exasperatedly and walked over to InuYasha, grace flowing in every step he took. Kagome would have been impressed, if not for fear and the mounting anger in the pit of her stomach, burning its way upstream.

"Mister, I'm not a 'damsel in distress', just a pissed of girl who are currently being carried around like another piece of package." Her growl caught the large male of guard, which was clearly visible in his slightly widened eyes and downturn of his smile; a simple streak was now his mouth. Kagome didn't care. "Please, let me down now, and explain this kidnapping 'accident'."

She heard a muffled sound from InuYasha's direction, but didn't dare break her staring contest with his older brother; if she did, she was sure she would break down and beg for forgiveness. Kagome was **not** someone who begged for forgiveness.

The man broke the gaze first and sighed with something akin to disgust, and threw her at InuYasha. She yelped as she flew through the air, expecting to fall on her bum which would be aching painfully for hours after, but instead she let out a huff as she collided with another firm chest. More firm than the other actually.

She looked up and looked eyes with InuYasha, being chained to his honey gaze. She noticed distracted that his ears were swiveling on top of his head; maybe listening to her raising heart. Feeling a blush creeping up her throat she looked down and stared at his chest.

"Um… thanks. For not letting me fall." She mumbled while her mind was running around in little circles, screeching for itself _Oh my GOD! A male chest! ANOTHER male chest! No, no, no, oh my god, how can his muscles feel so tense through this clothing? Does he work out a lot? How does he look like without it? And I did SO not just think that!_

She clamped her lips together, determined to not let even a squeak of her mind's words escape her mouth. InuYasha coughed.

"You're… you're welcome."

"Brother." The deep baritone wielder said, causing the other two to look at him. Arms crossed over his chest and a perfectly curved eyebrow raised he sighed. "Let her down; your rescue of her now won't help if you let her fall again.

"Hah?" Kagome and InuYasha said in unison. Sesshomaru sighed again.

"You," he said as he pointed at InuYasha. Kagome noticed a long filed fingernail on it. Or was it a claw? "Half-breed. Half human."

Silence. "So?" InuYasha said after a while, apparently annoyed. She could feel his chest vibrate with a silent growl.

"So, you have a little problem in about…" he glanced at his wrist. A pure white clock stared back at him. "Ten seconds, more or less."

"What the hell are you-?" InuYasha began, but suddenly he seemed to have a puke-attack; hunching slightly over Kagome while a nasty look came over his face. "Oh, crap."

"Indeed."

Kagome looked between the two, confusion mixed with worry over her friend. "InuYasha?"

At the sound of her voice he hurriedly let her down on the floor. Then he turned tail and fled out the door, oddly hunched over as he rushed away.

Kagome stared at the door for a good whole minute, without hearing InuYasha either puking or screaming. If it was a good sign or not, she wasn't sure. She settled her gaze on the brother then, raising an eyebrow at him.

He sighed at her; a sigh that could mean anything between 'Who breed such a child?' to 'Why am I doing this again?'

"Are you serious? Haven't he been living with you mundane for a while now?"

She stared some more.

"He is half. When night comes, he's something more than human, but come dawn…" he trailed off.

"Oh," she said, nodding her head slowly. "Oh, crap."

"Hnn, indeed. It's not the most amusing time for him."

"No, not that. I meant crap with more like 'crap, now I am stuck with this prick until sunset, how am I supposed to stay alive?'." She batted her eyelashes at him.

Sesshomaru stayed quiet for a while. Then, very quietly, he sighed. "Oh, crap."


	24. Revelation

**Yay! Another chapter! As usual, I don't own InuYasha characters. Those belong to Rumiko Takahashi, as they always will.**

This story line however is all mine!

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><p>"So, you're what, exactly?"<p>

Sesshomaru glowered at her. After InuYasha's sudden dash, leaving him with the filthy ningen – who was still in her equally filthy pajamas – he had been ordered to let her out of the room. Of course he had refused; someone ordering the great Sesshomaru simply couldn't be tolerated! But then this female had started to scream, wail, and hit at things until he complied. His poor ears still had a slight ringing in them. How could anyone, supernatural as mundane, be so annoying and… well, _annoying_?  
>He silently applauded her for causing him –Sesshomaru – to forget that word that described her so well.<p>

"Helloooo?" the girl breathed, waving a delicate hand in front of his face. He himself wouldn't say that he flinched. No, he certainly didn't; he simply twitched with annoyance. Glaring daggers he moved farther down the sofa's length, farther away from the annoying being.

She huffed at him and plopped down in the old armchair, next to the bookcase. "Fine, fine, I know. I, ningen. You, something-I-don't-want-to-meet-in-a-dark-alley. Now, tell me what you are so I can change that stupidly long name!" The girl crossed her arms over her small frame and smirked; mischief written all over her face. "Or maybe you're too scared to tell me?"

"Little human," he growled deep in his throat. "I'm not scared of something as mortal as your race of… _pests_. Please, do not confuse me with my weak half-brother."

"Why should I? Because he's half of whatever you are? Which takes us back to my question; what are you?"

He stared darkly at her, before turning his head – slowly and teasing – to the side, not looking at her anymore. Then he simply relaxed into the sofa, rested his head on the backrest. He sighed softly with content, which made Kagome narrow her eyes at him.

"Strange. I could have sworn I heard a rat somewhere. Clearly just my imagination~" he mumbled to himself, just loud enough for her to hear.

"Fine, ignore me all you want; I will just have to wait until InuYasha is back to being his humanoid looking self again, and then I will ask him. _He _at least seems to know a few things around here."

A blow under the belt to the proud man, which he suspected she knew. However, he was not one to bow in defeat – not yet, at least.

"That half-breed does not know anything, only that which he needs to know."

She frowned at him. "So you and your father haven't told him anything; what he is, his roots? Anything at all?"

The stoic man went quiet for a while as he contemplated what he could tell her. If he said something rude about the half of his brother's roots, then she would most certainly start screeching again. That was nothing his ears were longing to hear again in his long lifetime. But if he told her exactly what she wanted to know, then she would maybe use it to her advantage; hurt his pack.

Sesshomaru may be a man with a heart – and soul – made out of ice, but his pack was something no one had his permission to touch. The last one who had attempted such was currently on the other side of the living, thinking over his wrongdoings.

Maybe he could make some half-truth out of it? That seemed like the safest, at least for now. Would she prove to hold this information to herself, he would approve of her. If not…

He sighed softly and glared at the girl, who had frozen with her hand outstretched toward him. Flashing a goofy grin, she dropped it and sat down again.

"What," he turned his head slowly so that he was fully facing her, "were you doing, ningen?"

She laughed nervously. "I-I- um, I was just checking if you were, uh, awake? You were just sitting there without moving for, like, two minutes. It got me worried since you are InuYasha's brother and, well, InuYasha can't sit still for two minutes. So I thought that since you are related by blood, then maybe it isn't normal for you to be still for so long." The ningen woman smiled apologetically at him.

He huffed at her answer. "Of course it isn't normal to freeze up," pointed look at her, "and we are related through blood, unfortunately. That however, is by far not enough to make us _alike_."

The girl caught her lip between her teeth, but as if sensing the unsure action she released it and crossed her arms over her chest. Puffing out her chest, as though to make her look more intimidating, she rose her chin at him. Surprisingly this only made him think of an angry child who had just been refused to play with the scissors. Very much like his little brother.

"We live under a thousand-year old curse."

The grandfather clock in the corner tick-tocked five times before the girl dropped her chin. He wondered silently what her name was. He was sure his brother had screeched it at least once, either at his first visit or from when he, Sesshomaru, had "rescued" her from his brother's childish assault. Kimine…. Canemo… Kanemi?

"Hah?" Round blue eyes contra a hanging mouth equaled to a very amusing sight for Sesshomaru. But he held his facial expression to himself, only laughing loudly in his own mind. His outer face held the same tense lines.

"Do not make me repeat myself, girl."

"Oh, sorry." He looked away from her while still holding the same bored and aloof look. Inside he was sniggering. Finally his half-breed of a brother had done something right! How fun it was to tease the ningen.

"But only if you stop calling me girl, ningen, human and woman."

Sesshomaru froze for a millisecond, before turning dramatically – slow and precise, not letting a muscle move in his lower body. He frowned. "What?"

The girl sighed with the same drama as he had moved. "Haaah, really. All you've done for," she stopped to look at the grandfather clock,"almost two hours, are calling me 'woman' or 'girl', 'human' or 'ningen'. Do you know just how irritating that is?"

_He? Irritating? How dared she!_

The girl leaned back against the armchair, letting her head rest at a loosely clenched fist which was plopped up on the elbow rest. "I mean, hey, I know fully well that I'm a human female; I don't need to get it thrown in my face all the time, as if it is a dirty word."

Sesshomaru opened his mouth to respond, but she raised her hand to silence him. Really, silence _him_! "And, no, it isn't. So call me Kagome."

_Ah. That was the name._ Of course, Sesshomaru would have remembered that instantly – if it wasn't such a boring name on such an oblivious girl.

"B_y_ the way," she let her arm drop to rest by her side, unaware of his thoughts, before she leaned closer to him," what thousand year old curse?"

_Damn_. He had been so sure that she would have forgotten all about his words earlier, seeming that she was an incredibly dense and babbling girl. Fooled to believe this girl, with big blue eyes, a chattering mouth and hair that pointed in every which direction – of course no one would have thought of her as _smart_ or even as someone able to remember anything. But then he silently chided himself as he blinked at her raised eyebrow. Even the greatest of geniuses, such as him, could be wrong once or twice. But never thrice, thank you very much.

Letting out a deep breath as he prepared to tell her his family's proud blood line, their curse, he glared at her a final time. "Can I trust you?"

"Of course," came the quick reply, now two raised eyebrows and glittering eyes as the girl – Kagome, it was – leaned closer.

"Swear on your family's life, the souls of those not in this world and those in your blood line that have yet to come?"

He saw something resembling pain strike across her face, before she took a deep breath and nodded once. Nodding with satisfaction he leaned away from her and observed her silently, memorizing her features before saying the word's that he knew would change Kagome's life.

"We are werewolves."

* * *

><p><strong>Du-du-duuuum! Raise a hand everyone who didn't expect that to plop out of lord High-and-Mighty's mouth! <strong>


	25. Nightly Company

**Standard Disclaimers. That is, InuYasha characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi.**

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><p>Thoughts were whirling in and out of her head as a maelstrom, that night as she tried to sleep in the room where she had first woken up. One thought seemed especially persistent as it kept nagging at her every time she closed her eyes; what the hell had she plunged into?<p>

This particular event, with InuYasha's halfbrother Sesshomaru explaining – in as few words as he could and with a slow pace as though he was mocking her sense of brain activity – reminded her slightly of the day they told her that her father had died. Shocking, to put it mildly. More shocking to imagine Sesshomaru grow furry and more beast-like, which she had told him.

He had snorted at her and explained that he doesn't grow "furry" – he was supernatural all the time, not just like in the movies where you needed the moon. InuYasha, he had explained with a smirk, was half. Therefore InuYasha had the handicap of a dog in the daytime – his "werewolf" part.

Kagome rolled over on her side and curled up into a ball, shivering slightly as an offending breeze swept over her in the drafty room. She could almost see the smirk on the bastards face. That Sesshomaru, human-hater and coldblooded son of a werewolf. She giggled quietly. Strangely, the image fitted him quite good – if you didn't think about being all furry and stuff, like in the movies. Which, according to Sesshomaru, he didn't get.

She curled up into a tighter ball, burying her face under the thin blanket she had borrowed. Damn, it was cold in there! Trying to stifle the shivers, she closed her eyes and tried to relax.

When she opened her eyes she was home. Although she couldn't see anything, she just knew that she was where she was supposed to be, where she was meant to stay; not of in a crazy voodoo world filled with werewolves and other yadda-yadda stuff. She sighed with content and burrowed further down in her soft cocoon made out of her blanket. It was only when she breathed in that she frowned. It didn't smell like her room; instead of the smell of weak mint, she scented animal. And when she thought about it, her back was quite cold which was weird – she always slept by the wall so she shouldn't be this cold.

Kagome craned her neck and tried to see into the darkness. Then she felt something nudge at her cheek, causing her to flinch slightly and flail with her arms as she recoiled. The nudging continued, but it felt more like a unknown action, something like the leaves sweeping at you in a thick forest. Curiously she let her hand travel over her covers, which didn't feel like her covers; thin and icky feeling material scratched under her palm. Then her hand met soft fur.

She blinked once, then twice. Cautiously she scratched at the warm fur, drawing her fingers through the rough smoothness. Soon she received a rumbling that vibrated through her hand, before she picked up the sound of a content sigh.

First she couldn't really understand what it was; only that it was something alive. Then her mind caught up with time and she sat up abruptly, in the same time causing th sleeping creature to tumble of the mattress and land on the floor with a thud.

"InuYasha! What in the world makes you think you can sleep in here with me?"

"Ouch… geez, what woke you up, damn wench? That hurt!" he grumbled from somewhere beside me. The sound of scratching started momentarily before a hiss could be heard. It seemed to her like she had made him stand on his head. Good.

"It's your own fault – what made you think you could sleep in here, with me, anyway?" She suddenly gasped and dived under the blanket. "Y-you aren't going t-to do anything perverted, are you?"

A huff, and rustling clothes as he moved around. "_No_. What would I gain from doing anything to you anyway, stupid wench?"

"It's not _wench_, you stupid little dog-boy – it's Kagome. Please call me that, or I will be majorly pissed off at you. Yeah, me, Kagome, pissed off at the transforming boy – dog by day, boy by night! Do you know how utterly irritating it is to have to listen to both you _and_ your brother call me n-"

"Kagome." Hearing her name so suddenly effectively made her quiet down. His voice sounded so serious all of a sudden, as if he was about to say something that neither he nor she would like. Almost like when her mother had the dreadful Talk, with a big T, with her. Kagome so hoped InuYasha wasn't going to say anything similar – that was fated to be awkward.

"What did you and Sesshomaru talk about?"

Letting out a small sigh of relief, she peeked out from under her covers, trying to gauge where the boy was. "N-nothing in particular! Only 'ningen's are not valuable enough to be in the same room with the oh-so-important-me' and 'blahdery-blah'."

She mimicked Sesshomaru's deep baritone, while she hoped, prayed, that InuYasha wouldn't dig too deep into the matter. Sesshomaru had been very particular on what she could tell the boy – that was, nothing of it.

"… is that so?" He didn't sound very convinced. But then again, Kagome had always been a terrible liar. Until only she and her mother was left that is. Now she was only bad at lying, an improvement not to be proud of.

"Of course! Why, you think I'm lying to you? Why would I do that? That would just be stupid, and I'm not – and don't you _dare_ say anything about it!" _Shut up, stupid mouth!_ Kagome started to panic as word after word tumbled out of her mouth in a confusing river of sentences, due to her guilt over lying to him – which only made her more flustered.

While she tried to reassure him – "I'm not lying – honestly!" – she swept out with her hands for emphasis. A loud _smack_ startled her however, and she momentarily froze. Dread started making its way down her back as she felt the things she had hit move under her hand.

"Ouch…" she heard him grumble from somewhere in front of her. Panicked she reached out with her other hand, finding soft hair.

"I'm _soooo_ sorry! Are you alright? Where did I hit? InuYasha!" Kagome petted his hair furiously, the only thing she could do as she couldn't see how he was.

"Firstly; I will be alright in a second. Secondly; you don't want to know…" she heard him mutter.

Kagome paled as pictures started rolling in her head, displaying different scenarios over the painstakingly moment.

"I'm so sorry!"

"Whatever…"

* * *

><p><strong>Ohhh, daaaamn. That gotta hurt.<strong>

Sorry if this was a... disappointing chapter after the previous one - but I needed to get some cuteness out of my system. And torment InuYasha a little, I confess. Either way - tons of homework in the following week, so I won't be able to write as much as I want. Sorry.

Please review, and tell me how You think I can improve!


	26. Some Explaining To Do

**InuYasha characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi.**

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><p>Poor InuYasha was still sulking in the far corner across from Kagome, glaring daggers at everyone who dared come near. Across from him, sitting in the old sofa in the living-room, sat the human girl. Arms crossed and an exasperated sigh escaping from her lips every now and again. Somehow she had found an old t-shirt lying in her bedroom – better known as storage room – and had draped herself in the far too big cloth.<p>

Sesshomaru sighed dramatically and shook his head. "What in the world did you try to make the ningen do, little brother?"

As predicted the halfling perked up and changed directions for his daggers. "What do you mean "what did you do"? I didn't do anything!"

"Oh, please," the girl immediately retorted, her eyes flashing dangerously, "You know very well that _that_ is not something to do in the same room as a girl."

"Who's a girl? The one who dressed herself in my old shirt that has splotches everywhere and are ready for the tip? The only one in this room who even _slightly_ resembles a girl is Sessho-"

"Finish that sentence, little brother, and I will silence you in the worst way possible for a man." The older brother glared right back at the younger, until InuYasha turned away his face with a jerk. Satisfied with the show of subordination he leaned back once more in the armchair that the girl – Kagome – had been sitting in the day before. It felt like ages ago, but truthfully it had only been some mere hours since he had told her about his and his brother's heritage.

He threw a glare at the girl and asked once more, in a more serious tone of voice. "What did he do?"

She was blushing all over; from embarrassment or anger, it was hard to tell.

"He- he-" she took a new breath, then tried again, "He- I- He took- oh God, I can't say it!"

"Then don't! What good would it be to let that bastard know about it anyway?" said the little brother from his corner. "It's not like he will do anything about it anyway. He wouldn't even care if you suddenly went out and married someone!"

"But now I CAN'T get married!" she suddenly shrieked, flying out of the sofa and standing up, glaring murderous at the boy. "You," she ground out, pointing with a trembling finger at InuYasha, "take responsibility."

"I take what?"

"You heard me. Take. Responsibility."

"Like hell I will!"

She stomped her foot in the ground like a child. "Yes, you will!"

"Will not!"

"You will!"

"Not!"

Sesshomaru sighed. "However how hilarious I think this ordeal is, I believe we have gathered here for a whole different reason. Isn't that so, little brother?"

The other two were breathing heavily, but, thankfully for Sesshomaru's delicate ears, they had stopped shrieking at each other. He found, as he had said, this exchange of words between the two a great deal of entertainment, but they had other things to think about; like what to do about the girl.

He fixed his gaze at Kagome. "You can't stay here."

Blue eyes gazed back at him, the fire that had been there slowly dying down to a slight flicker. "I know," she replied quietly.

"You have to return to your home."

She turned her eyes away from him. Instead she fixed her blue gaze on the old floorboards. "I know."

He nodded to himself, pleased that she was so easy to agree to what he said – although it was a little unsettling as well. Wasn't it her that had been arguing so fiercely with him only yesterday? The change from a advancing lioness to this helpless kitten almost made him growl with confusion. However, Sesshomaru was not one to show any of the few weaknesses he had – if any.

"Then," he said and rose from his seat, "I will take you home now. Come." With that, he walked past her in the armchair and stopped in the doorway as the girl made no move to get up. "Girl-"

"It's Kagome! Christ, you would think that two days in the same dump-of-a-house would actually start using an appropriate name!" the girl exclaimed while getting to her feet. Silence stretched as the males watched her; one with a blank look on his face and the other with a bored yet slightly amused eyes.

"Sorry," Kagome said and wiped at her eyes. "But, can't I stay here?"

"Whuh?" came the intelligent proclamation from InuYasha. Sesshomaru stood motionless, regarding the girl silently as she whirled to meet his eyes.

"W-well, I want to help… you know, with the house," she hurried to explain and looked down at her feet. Any fool – except InuYasha – would have noticed the nervous stance she had, the weighing from one foot to the other, the worried knitting and unknitting of her hands. Any fool – except his brother – could see that in her; she wanted to stay. But why, he had no idea.

"Why would you do that?" he questioned aloud. She snapped her head up and looked at him for a second, before hurriedly looking back down. "And more importantly; what makes you think that we would let you?"

"That…"

Cocking an eyebrow at her Sesshomaru sighed. "Again, not thinking through your actions. What would you do about your mother then?"

The mention of her little family worked; she lifted her head and stared at him. Her eyes seemed to storm in their deep blue depths as different feeling filtered through; anger, depression, and many others fought for an expression.

"That's what I thought. Now, come." Again he turned, and again her voice stopped him.

"I can help you… with _that_."

Before the last word had left her mouth he had her pinned to the wall, his claws at her throat. "You cannot, and you will not." He sneered at her. His claws tightened around her tender neck as he talked. "You know nothing, and so it will remain. Do you understand that?"

Giving her a slight push Sesshomaru let go and took some steps back as Kagome slowly slid down the wall. She coughed and rubbed at her throat, but soon raised her gaze to lock with his again.

"I can and I will," she said hoarsely. "I know, and that will remain. Do _you_ understand that, Sesshomaru?"

An immensely irritated half-dog choose this moment to remind them of his presence, as he jumped in between the two and shielded the girl protectively with his body. InuYasha bared his fangs at his brother and growled.

"What are you talking about that you aren't telling me?" he murmured. When Sesshomaru didn't reply, only simply glaring at his sibling, InuYasha glanced at Kagome. "What are you not telling me?"

None of them said anything however. They continued to share their silence with each other, using it like a wall to keep InuYasha outside. The boy growled loudly once more, before scoffing.

"Fine, don't tell me. Keep it to yourselves for all I care." He didn't glance at Kagome as he began to leave; he didn't care that he bumped into his older brother's shoulder and causing Sesshomaru to trip slightly. When he had moved out of sight he called to them. "Oh wait; I don't care."

A loud bang as a door was slammed shut, and the silence engulfed all.

-o-

InuYasha was boiling on the inside. Anger, hurt or whatever; he was boiling, and it was all because of those two. He slumped against his bedrooms door and slid down all the way, until he was sitting against it. There he leaned his head back and sighed heavily.

Needless to say, he knew his brother. At least most of him. When his brother was taunting and smirking with a mixture of boredom and amusement it often meant he was somewhat glad. Not _happy_ as some would say; just slightly more happy than an icicle. When nothing other than a cold stare and silence were presented, then it was something he didn't want – or care, for that matter – to tell. Or do.

But Kagome…

InuYasha stared up at the dirty roof and recalled her laugh as he tickled her, all over. Somehow he had imagined that such a laugh with the kind person she was wouldn't, couldn't, be associated with lies and silence. It didn't fit her to be quiet about something like this; not if it made two parties out of three to be silent.

As that thought passed he suddenly snapped back to reality. '_That's right,' _he thought, _'it _isn't _like her to stay quiet!'_

He stood up silently and turned around cautiously, careful not to make a sound as he turned the doorknob.

—o—

"You must tell him, you know." Kagome still sat on the floor where Sesshomaru had discarded her. Red marks had started to appear on her throat, her voice was a little raw and it hurt to use, but she would live. That was something she had been certain wouldn't have been the case if InuYasha had not jumped in. Now she gave Sesshomaru looks that told him just how much she hoped he would finally listen to reason.

Sesshomaru however, was oblivious. "I must not do anything. You however must go home."

"Well, mister," she scoffed, "I do not. If I did that now, my mom would notice one particular thing that isn't quite right with me for the moment."

The werewolf glared at her while teasingly raising an eyebrow. "Only one thing?"

Kagome stuck her tongue out at him. "Ha, ha. No. Notice my new tattoo on my throat? It is only red right now, but soon it will turn blue and purple." she brushed a few stray strands of her hair out of her face as she smiled wickedly. "Which, as you may know, is called 'bruises'. Fancy, don't you think? I wonder what mom would say if she saw that, right after I had been gone for several days."

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Using extortion against me now, are you? You almost make me laugh."

"Yeah… right. Sure, see it as an extortion of sorts. But seriously," her smile slowly died on her lips," you need to tell him the truth. If you don't, who knows what might happen? One thing is for certain though; the sooner you tell him, the faster he will forgive you." When only silence answered her Kagome sighed heavily. "He can't hate you, you know? You are his brother-"

"_Half_-brother," he corrected her.

"Sure, whatever. You still have to tell him what he is and what you have done to protect and help him." The look she got from the werewolf made her throw up her hands in an angry gesture. "It's true! And sure, he will hate you for a while, but it will pass - because you are half-brothers."

The room grew quiet, only the steady tick-tocking from the grandfather clock disturbing it. Sesshomaru sat in the armchair with his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped in front of him; if she didn't know better, Kagome would have said he was in a deep prayer – which somehow didn't really fit Sesshomaru. In her mind's eye she saw the werewolf, dressed up in black robes and a priest collar around his neck. She put a hand over her mouth in an attempt to stop the furious giggling from running free-laps around the room. Somehow, she suspected that a certain person would not appreciate being laughed at, especially not if he knew about _what_ she laughed.

"Are you certain that such is a wise choice?" he asked her quietly. The unsuspected noise made her jump from her position on the floor.

"Huh?" she asked. Damn, had he been talking for a long time?

Sesshomaru glared at her. Oops, it seemed like he had. "I have asked you if it is wise to tell my little brother about the deeds I have done for his and your race's safety. Now I begin to wonder if it is wise that I ask you of these things."

Before she could reply there was a clatter behind Sesshomaru. Kagome tilting her head and Sesshomaru turning around, they both gazed upon InuYasha who was frozen in place. His hands was outstretched and his back crouched, as if he had attempted to catch the huge pile of old videotapes. Upon seeing that he was exposed he straightened and hunched his shoulders. Pointing a clawed finger at them he scowled.

"You. Tell me. Now."

Sesshomaru didn't glance at Kagome, but she had a feeling that if he could he would have done so. Now however, he stared straight ahead and met his younger brother's gaze.

"InuYasha." Sesshomaru drawled.

"Tell me, or I swear by God, I will rip your guts out."

Kagome sighed heavily, stood up and dusted herself off. "It seems that you boys have some things to clear up. Please excuse me." She strode past Sesshomaru, and without a look at the other boy she left the room.

Sesshomaru smirked slightly. "Godness, had I known I only needed you in the same room to get her to leave, I would have done so sooner."

The comment didn't hit home. His little brother looked as sour as ever as he made his way around Sesshomaru and stopped where his brother had all but strangled Kagome earlier. Without ceremony he plopped down with his legs crossed.

"Speak," he said.

—o—

_It was the year of 1874. The dim dusk of the east coated the small Russian outlook in a warm gold. To the left of the tower was a huge and eerily forest, that seemed to loom in ominously over the small clearing. The right however, sported a lake that glinted and sparkled as it caught the last sunrays on it skin. Small breezes whirled up clouds of dust that seemed like gold flecks whirling about. These "gold flecks" did little however to the slightly irritated young boy who stood with an even smaller child by his side, as both of them sneezed and coughed out the irksome things._

_Both of them had silvery hair and golden eyes, that shone with the help of the setting sun. Clad in dark cloaks that did little to nothing to hide their appearances, it was easy to tell that these were not normal._

_The older boy tugged on the smaller one. "Come little brother. Our father's friend is just ahead." _

"_Big brother," the child yawned hugely. Two tiny fangs glinted before he closed the mouth. "I'm tired. Will that old man have warm blankets for us?"_

_The older boy smirked coolly and scooped up the boy. "Yes, InuYasha. I'm sure he does. After all, we are father's children – only the best is good enough."_

_InuYasha yawned again as he struggled to stay awake. "The best? Then he should have mother and father there too." Suddenly the boy perked and stared at his big brother. His tiny ears stood straight up with excitement. "Maybe they are! That Myoga are maybe hiding them in a closet! Right? Right?"_

_Sesshomaru said nothing to that; such childness was something he could not associate with. However, he did understand his young brother's will to forget and imagine that everything was alright; that they weren't running for their lives, that their father and InuYasha's mother hadn't been killed in front of their eyes. _

"_Maybe," he concluded. "Maybe._

_-o-_

"_So," Sesshomaru said quietly to the small elder across the table," what do we do now?"_

_Having been in the same little tower for over an year, the young lord's patience was finally running short. It teased him to madness that he had not been able, or allowed, to seek out whatever evil it was that had exterminated Sesshomaru's and his little brother's family._

_The elderly man jumped and stared wide-eyed at the boy. "I do not know, my lord. Forgive this old man and servant of your father, but I cannot advice you about what to do now."_

_The little man started sweating, Sesshomaru noticed. His white thinning hair lay plastered by his ears; the wrinkles around the long nose seemed deeper than usual. Had Sesshomaru not known better, he would have said that the low-class vampire had gotten older. Which in any case was impossible for any child of the night. _

"_There is something that you are not telling me, Myoga," the youngling said. _

_The old man jumped with a start and tried on a smile at the boy. Which seemed so strained that Sesshomaru didn't know if he should feel offended by the grimace. "Whatever made you think that, my lord?"_

_In a sensation the boy didn't know was his own he simply stared at the vampire before letting his aura show around him. He let it stretch out toward the shaking blood sucker, until he visibly saw the sweat starting to show on the elder's brow and the pale on the paleness. He smirked._

"_I believe you do, vampire vassal."_

_Suddenly the man seemed to shrink in on himself; his small shoulder's closing in on his small body, his arms twisting around his body as if he tried to keep it intact. His head was ducked so close to his chest that it seemed he had none. Myoga started to make whimpering noises and his small frame started shaking itself._

"_Please, no! I beg you, no, no, no!" Myoga cried, while rocking in his chair. Back and forth. Back and forth, like a strange and eerily dance._

_Sesshomaru hadn't moved an inch since the outbreak, but he couldn't help but stare with wide and slightly scared eyes at the broken man, as Myoga continued to wail higher and higher._

"_Sesshomaru? What's going on?" a sleepy voice asked by his elbow. Looking down Sesshomaru saw his little brother, eyes heavy with sleep but a determined and scared expression on his face._

"_Oh Gods, no!" Myoga cried, casting his head up and revealing his bleeding eyes to the two boys. "Please, my lord, kill me now! For if you don't, he will find you!"_

"_He? Who?"_

_Myoga shook his head jerkily. "Please my lord! For if he do, he will be here in all but a second! I beg you; end my life so you and your brother can live on!"_

"_I cannot do what you ask of me!" To his dim surprise Sesshomaru noticed that he was screaming right back. Now standing, his little brother shuffled behind his back, he shouted to the vampire. "I promised father that I would protect us; that I would protect you!_

_Myoga smiled then, a grim act as droplets of blood poured down from his eyes and now his nose. "Then do so, my lord; by taking my life I shall find peace, and in this act so will you and your brother. Take the life that has always belonged to your family!"_

"_Grandpa Myoga? What's happening, brother?" Little InuYasha tugged on his big brother's sleeve, but was pushed away as Sesshomaru closed his eyes briefly._

"_InuYasha. I command you as head of the family and as your brother to go out of here."_

"_But-"_

"_Now, InuYasha. Do not make me repeat myself." The heated glare his brother sent him was almost enough to make the little boy wet himself, but he obliged without doing so. He scurried out of the room and left the older men._

_Sesshomaru sighed heavily. Regarding his elder, he drew his sword Tokijin. "My apologies, old friend. This was nothing I wished upon you."_

_Myoga only smiled thinly with closed eyes, the drips of blood somehow seizing somewhat in their path. "Thank you, my lord. Thank you."_

_-o-_

_The first time for InuYasha was when he was fourteen years old, 1885 in England; ten years after the incident with Myoga. Sesshomaru, now twenty one, had first been perplexed by the little pup that had jumped at him and whined. It had scratched, licked and made an complete fool out of Sesshomaru, who didn't know what kind of creature it was._

"_Get off me, you stupid little creature," he growled at it, shoving it of his stomach. It whined and whimpered when it thudded into the ground. The white puppy managed to stand up on four shaking legs, but when it tried to move a few steps forward its legs skidded under it and it fell down. The whining got higher until Sesshomaru could distinguish three words._

"Help me, brother"_. InuYasha's deformed voice sounded from it. Sesshomaru sat on his bum, staring at the puppy as the same three words repeated and repeated in the strange language of dog. _

"_InuYasha," he said dumbfounded. Then he slowly smiled and started to laugh. "Now this is very interesting."_

_People passing by in the avenue turned to stare at the handsome man, who was currently talking with a dog. But as soon as Sesshomaru shot a glare at them, they hurried on with their own businesses. _

_-o-_

_InuYasha got better with his troubling form when the night became day – every hour the sun was out the boy would turn into a snow white Akita-inu, and at night he returned to being a boy again. With the little concern of loss of clothing that is._

_This night was different somehow; it had been nearly a month since his first turn and the moon was out. The full moon._

_It was normal in Sesshomaru's family, since ancient times, to gather together, transform and then sing together in a eerily beautiful song. But now, since it was only he and the strange on-off-transforming half-breed left, such a thing was not possible._

_This night Sesshomaru had decided to go alone; it was nothing for someone who was part human to participate in. Of course the boy had protested, although he didn't know why._

"_Why can't I join in? We are brothers!" InuYasha had cried. "All that is yours are mine, are they not?"_

"_This one is not," Sesshomaru had murmured as he prepared to go out; a long afternoon cloak and a top hat on his head. Clothes that was easy to slip into and hide would the need arise. Such a situation seemed to have come, when large gold eyes – so alike his own – stared at him pleadingly._

"_Why are you so stubborn, Sesshomaru? This is the only thing that we have left from our family, yet you don't want me in on it; why is that?" The boy crossed his arms and pouted._

_Had it not been for the twinkling in the boy's eyes, Sesshomaru might have obliged – God knew he was weak for his brother. But something in Sesshomaru told him that if he did let the boy come with him, then something was bound to happen. In Sesshomaru's own pup-years, when he had participated, he had seen other full-bred werewolves run berserk with the intoxication of the Wolf-spirit. As a child he had seen blood and heard cries, as a werewolf teared it's victim in two. Those werewolves had his father been pushed to execute came morning – because once a were tasted blood in it's true form, it would hunger for more. Such a risk could Sesshomaru not take with his young brother._

_He smirked coolly. "No, half-breed, you cannot. You would only just be in the way with your oh so clumsy self."_

_When he saw his brother's twinkling slowly die down, he furrowed his brow. Leaning closer he growled, "Don't you dare follow me for God knows I will not let you away unharmed. Is that understood?"_

_The boy glowered at him and his ears was pinned down along his head. Sesshomaru let a growl crawl up his throat and out of his mouth, before he had the boy's throat in his hand._

"_Is that understood, Omega?" he asked. The last word dripped out of his mouth before he could stop it; the name on the member with the lowest rank. He saw immediately when his slip of tongue hit home. The boy stilled under his hand and his bangs hided his eyes._

"_Yes. Alpha." He mumbled, not without a great deal of anger._

_The recognition of rang stung, but Sesshomaru couldn't let it show. He was, after all, the one to take care of them now. He let the boy go, sat down the hat on his head and walked out the door without a backwards glance._

_-o-_

_The boy couldn't control himself. Sesshomaru had done what he could with all the chains and ropes he could find, but the boy thrashed around in his confines and snarled and spat as soon as Sesshomaru showed himself. If InuYasha continued doing so, his hands would most likely fall off from his arms – that bad was the wounds around his wrists._

"_Omega, I command you! Stop that this instant!" The same words, the controlling words his father had taught him, seemed old by now. The boy simply continued to howl and thrash. His blood red eyes was eerily alike those of the vampire retainer who had met his fate so many years ago, with the slight difference that he wasn't crying blood or writhing in pain. The evil smile on his face was proof enough._

"_Omega, Omega, Omega. Please, say something else; your ranting is making my poor, poor ears suffer," the boy once known as InuYasha cackled. He grinned with wild amusement as he saw Sesshomaru's baffled expression. "Sesshy, Sesshy, always the head of the snake. Drip, drip, drip says his whip, whip, whip which he hit, hit, hit until a back splits, splits, splits!" With each word of the boy's dark poetry his voice rose to a crescendo, bouncing off the walls and echoing throughout the house. The eerily and pure evil gleam in the boys eyes sent shivers through Sesshomaru's very bones – although the full-breed werewolf never would admit to anything of that sort._

_Having come home late in the morning from his lonesome singing, he had found their house, if not the outside but the inside, in ruins; claw marks adorned the walls from one side of the room to the other, paintings was split in two, flowers, food, even the chandeliers in the ceiling hadn't escaped the wrath. First Sesshomaru had only stood there, in the middle of the hall, and stared, as if the tatters could somehow explain to him why they were in such a disarrange. That was when he heard the thump coming from the garden._

_Hurrying outside he had caught sight of a huge shadow by the willow tree; it seemed to tremble and pant as if in a lot of pain. Or as if it was eating on something. Sudden rage had made Sesshomaru fling himself, teeth and claws bared, at the thing currently trespassing on his land. _

_The thing, as it became known, was a certain InuYasha. The boy had snarled and caught Sesshomaru by the older man's wrists and hurled him away from the snarling boy – at least, that was what it looked like. Sesshomaru had twisted slightly and the "throw-away" part had become a "landing-on-top". Pinning the boy's hands down by one of Sesshomaru's hands and placing his knees on InuYasha's legs, he took a good look at the boy._

_Remembering the sight of the fur and blood on and around his little brother's mouth, Sesshomaru shivered slightly. Never before had he seen anything that even _resembled _anything like the lunatic he had seen earlier that morning. Now InuYasha smiled at him knowingly, as if he knew what Sesshomaru was thinking about._

"_Sesshy, Sesshy, always the sensible one; 'To care about what has been will do naught for now'. Wasn't that what you said, brother, when mother and father were killed?" Somehow his little brother's face seemed lighter, almost glowing. Glancing to his side and out of the little window he noticed two particular things; that the glowing in fact was the sun rising. The other was that his little brother hadn't turned into a dog yet._

_InuYasha, following his big brother's movements with the cold prediction of an insect, smiled. "Surprise, surprise, Sesshy."_

_Indeed, it was._

_-o-_

"Wait. You are telling me that Myoga, someone I can't even remember, was possessed? And that I turned into some kind of… monster?" InuYasha, now sitting on the floor that Kagome had occupied earlier, had his head in his hands, knees propped up. "Then why can't I remember anything like that? I'm _pretty_ sure I would."

"You didn't because I made you forget," Sesshomaru replied calmly.

InuYasha peeked at the other male from between his fingers. "Why would you do that? Don't you hate me?"

"I do." Sesshomaru quieted and watched his little brother flinch. "And I do not."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Sesshomaru stood from the armchair and strolled over to the dirt speckled window. Attempting to peek outside and failing miserably, he leaned against the windowsill against his hip and crossed his arms. "Just what it is; I do and I don't. Sometimes I really wish to strangle out that air which is unnecessary in your lungs since your brain do not need the oxygen. Then again, you are the only living family I have left – without you I'm the last one, which is not a very pleasing title."

Ignoring the glare he continued, "Myoga was possessed, yes, and monster you were. Sometimes I can see that same lunatic watching from your eyes, but since that night you haven't let him come lose. A great success on your part – feel proud."

"How… _why_ didn't I turn into a dog that night?"

Sesshomaru cocked his head and thought carefully before answering slowly. "Your… blood wouldn't let you become weaker."

"My… _blood_? Do you know how crazy that sounds?" InuYasha let out a deep sigh and rubbed his temple. "Man, I don't think how much more I can take."

"Oh, suck it up. There's more to come."

Both of the males looked up, equally surprised and irritated, at the girl that had appeared at the door. She looked tired with her tousled hair and wrinkled clothes, as if she had been asleep until a minute ago. Kagome's sad expression as she leaned against the doorframe sent cold shivers down InuYasha's spine, but he took a deep breath and attempted to calm himself. Turning to Sesshomaru again, who was watching Kagome intently, he took another calming breath.

"What did you do to make me… _me_ again?"

Sesshomaru didn't seem to hear, but when InuYasha was about to ask again the werewolf answered:

"I sealed it."

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><p><strong>Oh man. I'm soooooo sorry for such a laaaaate updaaaaate *doing dogeza*<br>I feel pretty f****d up right now, with having a stomachache for a couple of days (and, no, not from every little girls happy week), having, what is it called... something like end-term-exams?... coming up next week, there are tests, difficulties with a writer's block and, oh this is fun, a friends birthday coming up. Soooo! If you've read this far I will say 'sorry' again, hoping/praying you'll understand my reasons and that a looong time of the keyboard will come up again.  
>So this looong chapter is my excuse to ya'll - the longest I've ever written. Hopefully, there'll be more, but for now - please accept this long, and hopefully explaining, chapter!<strong>

**Can't believe I'm asking you guys this after my long abscence, but... please, review?**


	27. Frustration

**InuYasha characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. This story however is mine. Thank you for reading!**

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><p>"You sealed my blood?" InuYasha repeated with doubt dripping from his every word. Kagome could almost see the chain InuYasha imagined that his brother had somehow forced down InuYasha's throat.<p>

"Yes."

InuYasha frowned deeply. "How the hell did you do that? I feel pretty much like myself, so I don't feel _sealed_ or anything."

His brother rose a delicate eyebrow. "Of course not. Why would you feel sealed when it was your blood that I sealed from you?"

Looking more confused than ever, InuYasha let his jaw drop. Kagome hurried to explain, "He means that he sealed your werewolf blood, at least partly since you have those fluffy things left." She pointed at his head, his furry ears twitching slightly.

"Let me get this straight; more than onehundred years ago we were at an old man's place, seeking refuge from something, and then he became possessed and begged _you_ – the non-too-pleasant person – to end his life for us and for him? Then some years, or decades, later something happened to me, that made _you_ – again, the unpleasant being – save me from myself and at the same time save yourself." InuYasha scratched his head and sighed heavily. "Then care to explain why I don't remember any of it?"

His target of questioning didn't move a muscle and seemed as unmoved as ever, but Kagome, who had watched the two of them for a while now – well, since InuYasha first entered the room, to be precise – noticed Sesshomaru stiffen slightly. But why?

"Whatever could you mean, InuYasha?" he asked instead, the cold baritone vibrated throughout the room. Kagome could almost see the frost sparkle at the window behind the full breed werewolf.

"Whatever could I not mean? I can't remember anything of what you've just told me, damnit!"

Sesshomaru pushed off the windowsill. "That is a fairly simple question, InuYasha. Even the likes of you should be able to figure something that easy out." A dramatic pause, with two pair of furrowed eyebrows in his direction. "If I let you remember everything you've been through, there's no guarantee that you won't turn into the beast I saw that day."

"Meaning?" InuYasha scoffed only to earn a quick thwack at the back of his head from Kagome. "What was that for?"

She huffed at him and crossed her arms. "Firstly; you're a real blockhead. Secondly; the thing you did in my room? So not cool. Thirdly-"

"I believe you've made your point," Sesshomaru huffed, clearly amused over the ordeal.

"No, not really." Kagome sighed and raised an eyebrow at InuYasha. "What I meant to say is; how big of an idiot can you be to not understand such an outright explanation?"

InuYasha frowned darkly and put his hands on his knees, leaning forward. "Who said I didn't understand, wench? I was simply asking why he hadn't told me anything of this sooner." Snorting he looked at his brother, one dark eyebrow raised. "So… care to explain?"

Kagome sighed over the bad excuse of understanding, while Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow of his own. "No."

"What?" InuYasha shouted and stood up. "Why not? It's my life you've been messing with, I have a right to…to…" His eyes suddenly widened and he convulsed, his whole body starting to change. Holding a hand to his stomach as if to support it InuYasha ran out of the room.

Kagome looked at Sesshomaru, who seemed very happy for someone who had just told his little brother his whole life was a lie. "And that was..?"

"Hnn. The sun is going up." Sesshomaru yawned ever so slightly, and Kagome saw with amazement that he had tiny fangs glistening in his mouth. He, catching her staring, turned his mouth into a disliking gesture.

"Oh!" She exclaimed, hurrying to cover the damage to a minimum. "Well, I guess that's one way of ending a conversation, isn't it?"

He seemed to contemplate her for a moment, not saying anything. "Hnn. And a very good opportunity to take you back home."

"Oh, bugger…"

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><p><strong>Bugger is some sort of swearword, isn't it? o.O<strong>


	28. Enter the Thunder Brothers

**You know the drill - not my characters, but Rumiko Takahashis. Story is mine, however.**

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><p>Driving home was a nightmare. Or, it seemed like one at least. She knew exactly what she would be finding in her house; a devastated and screaming middle-aged mom, possibly the entire police force – maybe even the S.W.A.T-team – and a heavy lock on her bedroom door when her mom was sure she was okay. That was what Kagome wanted to believe at least. Somehow she had the idea that her mom wouldn't have cared that much – maybe a few tears and questions like 'why'. Who knew; her mom was maybe busy renting out her room right now.<p>

Nightmare it was. Especially when it was Sesshomaru driving. Somehow she had imagined him to be more sensible than most in everything he did – driving was clearly not one of them.

"Sesshomaru?" she asked, gripping the safety handle on the roof tightly. She stared straight forward at the fast flying traffic, not really daring to close her eyes in fear of the car losing control.

It took a while before an irritated, "What?" was heard from her companion. Because of his unusual hair and markings in his face – and his claws – he was wearing a large hat, makeup and gloves. The hat seemed like it held pillows instead of hair, but at least no one could see his slightly pointed ears and long, silky white hair. The makeup almost made him look… human. Oh, how he would torture her if she said anything about it. Instinctively she gripped the handle even tighter.

"Where the heck did you get a driver's license?"

He glanced at her for the whole time of ten seconds, causing Kagome the twitch unconsciously. Then he returned his attention to the road. "Did it not occur to you that this one was alive when the first car was invented?" Sesshomaru smirked. "I can simply not understand how slow you humans are; I could run faster than these people!"

"Well, technically you are a werewolf so of course you're fast," she said nervously. "Besides – this is a cramped district. You know, kids in almost every house, grandparents and so one. That is why everyone goes so slowly, because they don't want to have a child's death on their mind."

Sesshomaru shot her a dry look, but didn't comment. Soon Kagome could see the houses outside starting to transform into actual houses and not just the blur of movement. Letting out a deep breath she let go of the handle, her hand shaking slightly. "Thank you."

"Don't get any ideas," Sesshomaru huffed, taking a swift corner. "I am only thinking of the little human children which has no sense whatsoever of which side of the road to walk on. I want to avoid unnecessary bloodshed for one night at least."

Kagome didn't really like the sound of that, but she refrained from commenting. Instead she focused on the sun which had seemed light-years away from her these past few days. Being in Sesshomaru's and InuYasha's house had been kind of suffocating, messy and dark, so the sun was a welcome caress on her skin. Closing her eyes she smiled a little. Sure, it had been a pain in that house; but she had learned so much more! Who would have thought that fantasy creatures was real, living in the same world as her? Sesshomaru was a jerk who couldn't succumb to feelings, but he was a considerate jerk if the tale about the young InuYasha was any proof at all. And InuYasha… was a dumbass jerk.

On the sidewalk she saw a mother walking hand in hand with a little child who couldn't have been more than five years. The little boy said something to his mother and she smiled down at him. Kagome frowned and looked down in her lap. Yes, InuYasha was a dumbass jerk, but he was _her_ dumbass jerk. She hadn't known him for more than a few days, but already he was an important friend to her. Hadn't he been there for her when her own mom wasn't…

Suddenly something collided with the car's front, sending it spinning around one, two times before finally landing on its side. Kagome screamed all the while, but her voice broke as the car hit the ground. If it had not been for her seatbelt – that she had been checking regularly – she would have been halfway out the windshield.

Coughing from the force her belt had when saving her, she felt around herself for the buckle, while at the same time trying to determine what just had happened. She hadn't seen anything before them, and the window she had been looking out through hadn't had a car moving towards them, right? Or had there been one, but she hadn't seen it in time? Or was it the aliens, finally deciding to take over the Earth? Shaking her head slightly in a vast attempt at getting rid of such ridiculous thoughts, Kagome hissed. Damn, her head _hurt_! Had she hit it somehow?

Finally finding the damn buckle Kagome unlocked herself, but realized too late that she was falling straight down, twisting as her clothing and limbs got caught in the seatbelt and the gear shift. Just when she thought she would hurt herself even more – presumably at the floor aka driver's door – she fell against something solid. Solid, but still soft. Groaning she propped a hand on the soft material and pushed herself up, before she gasped out.

"Sesshomaru!" she croaked, rocking the werewolf's shoulder. He didn't move. Kagome continued calling his name, and shaking his shoulder more violently, but the normally stoic and human-hating man didn't react at the action. "Sesshomaru, please! Can you hear me?"

Freeing herself from the seatbelt around her elbow and her leg from the gear shift, she raised her head as high as she could. "Hello? Can anybody hear me? Call an ambulance, please!"

A heavy thunk and the car moved slightly before stilling again. Kagome felt something stick on the hand she had been shaking Sesshomaru with, but she didn't dare look down at what it was. "Hello? Please, help me!"

Suddenly the sun that had been shining through her window turned dark as a handsome male peeked into it. Furrowed eyebrows and large dark eyes glared down at her. Some hair spilled down and splashed out onto the window that was still intact on her side. Then he smirked.

"Hey, Manten!" he called. A dark voice, but Kagome was sure he couldn't be much older than her or InuYasha. Then she almost laughed at herself; of course, InuYasha was more or less over 150 years old.

"What is it, brother?" Another male, not too far away answered. Equal dark voice, but it sounded more subdued somehow.

"We have a survivor; a girl!" the longhaired boy shouted, all the while smirking down at her. Kagome felt relief wash over her; this boy would surely save her and Sesshomaru. He and his brother – Manten was it? – would help them; get Sesshomaru and her to a hospital.

"Please," she whispered now, her alien voice losing strength. "Help us."

"Well, of course we will. Little girl lost, poor you." He made pouting faces at her and tilted his head this way and that.

"Is she there, brother Hiten?" the other male asked, closer this time. Hiten smirked in response to his brother.

"Yeah, and I must say – not a bad catch." Hiten said, suddenly disappearing from the window.

Kagome frowned as she tried to comprehend what he had said – 'little girl lost', 'not a bad catch' – but it was just swirling around in her head. All she knew was that right now there were two guys here who could help her, but that the savior had disappeared. In panic she tried to get to the window, but something suddenly grabbed her wrist and held her firmly in place. Startled she jumped and was about to shout again, when a familiar voice spoke to her.

"Pretend to have passed out. Quickly," came Sesshomaru's whispered tone. His clawed hand was less damaged than she had thought, and as she watched she saw a tiny cut on his throat slowly healing. Now, that was freaky. She obeyed, laying her head on his shoulder.

"Why am I doing this? Aren't they trying to help us?" she whispered back, slowly counting his breathing. Slow intake, slow outtake – perfect simulation of someone fast asleep.

"Harpies," was all he managed to say before the passenger door burst open and a toad looking creature with a balding head peeked in.


	29. The Need to Be

**Same drill - Rumiko Takahashis characters, not my own. Story is mine however!**

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><p>Quickly Kagome closed her eyes, and tried to breath simultaneously with Sesshomaru; slowly in, long breath out.<p>

"Brother, seems to me that she has passed out," the creature called. She could feel the car moving about as he shifted his weight; maybe trying to get a better look inside.

"So?" Hiten asked, some distance away. He sounded bored. "Just take her then, if you want her so badly."

Kagome chanced a peek; the monster-man called Manten was looking away from her, and as she watched she saw a huge smile starting to appear. A smile that stretched from ear to ear. With razor-sharp teeth peeking out. "I thank you, brother."

She felt Sesshomaru's hand hug her own. "Stay calm," he murmured. Kagome felt confused for a moment, but then she noticed herself shaking. Quickly she closed her eyes again and tried to focus on happy things; like puppies with snow white fur. 'Slow breathing – you are unconscious, Kagome.'

"What about the other one?" Manten called. The car rocked again as another shadow fell into the car. Hiten had joined his grotesque brother.

"Is it a girl?" he asked. Kagome felt Sesshomaru stiffen, but the ones looking down at them obviously didn't.

" I don't know – the dark-haired one is in the way," Manten answered. By now Kagome felt the odd need to start laughing out loud – probably nerves was the cause to that.

"Well, then take her out so I can see!"

'Oh no!' Kagome silently screamed. She didn't want that _thing_ to touch her, she didn't want to leave the relative safety of the car and she sure as hell didn't want to leave Sesshomaru. Squeezing his hand to bonebreaking point she silently whimpered, for his ears only.

"Stay calm," he whispered again, so faint that she could almost only feel his breath on her hair. "I will not let them harm you."

Pretending to turn her head in her sleep Kagome let her thick hair fall over their faces, creating an improvised curtain. "Who are you and what have you done with the human-hating Sesshomaru?" she whispered.

She was certain he would have smirked coolly at her, but then she was hauled out of the car. Careful to be 'unconscious', she suppressed a startled eep. Strong arm's held her bridal style and she could feel the sharp tips of claws on her shoulder and knee. Kagome tried to not shiver of disgusts as a decomposing smell hit her.

"Well?" Hiten muttered. A cold breeze and a loud thunk close to them told Kagome that the other brother had joined Manten on the carwreck. She knitted her eyes so tightly together as she could without letting go of her passed out expression.

"I can't look! I have this little cute human, so my hands are full. You look," Manten cried, a loud rumble starting in his chest and vibrating throughout Kagome's body. That rumble somehow sounded like a thousand hummingbird wings, or maybe the sound thunder emits. Someone sniffed deeply, the sound coming from underneath her. For a split second she was grabbed by panic and imagined that Sesshomaru had made a mistake and taken a too deep breath, and now the brothers of harpies would attack him. But then she heard Hiten's husky voice.

"Nah, it's male. Quite a strange smell though – seems like he isn't completely human." Another deep sniff as Hiten, she assumed, smelled Sesshomaru. "It's pretty hard to tell, what with these petrol fumes."

'Petrol fumes!' Kagome silently started to panic. Sesshomaru was inside a car wreck, filled with petrol fumes. Either he would be poisoned to death or one spark could make the car explode!


	30. Pursuit

**Standard Disclaimers! Rumiko Takahashis characters, not mine. Story however - mine.**

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><p>Sesshomaru lay as still as his werewolf body could while the disgusting harpies were talking overhead of him. Their repulsive smell wafted down to him and disturbed his senses, which was strangely weak. In the car crash Sesshomaru must have hit some nerve, momentarily laming his senses – both his scenting and hearing had been reduced to almost human like. The harpy who looked slightly like a human had made a remarkable effort of smelling like human musk. Still disgusting, but not as much as the harpies natural scent.<p>

He could faintly hear Kagome's heart beating rapidly, almost sounding like the tapping of a finger against a table. It disappeared and reappeared occasionally which caused his pack instincts to pick up. If he could he would have shouted to her to calm down, but if he did there was no telling what these mythological creatures would do. Thankfully their sense of hearing wasn't as good as a werewolf; however they had the ability to create dangerous storms to those they sought to torment – or kill. Sesshomaru gritted his teeth and decided to wait.

Suddenly a shadow fell over his seemingly motionless body, and he unconsciously tensed. The human lookalike called Hiten was looking down at him, if Sesshomaru's excellent sense of smell was any indicate. Though it was strangely weak he could still make out the disgusting human smell that wafted from the harpy.

"Nah, it's male," Hiten said, his voice sounding as if it came from inside a tunnel, far away. Sesshomaru silently wondered what he had missed when being in his own train of thought. "Quite a strange smell though – seems like he isn't completely human. It's pretty hard to tell, what with these petrol fumes."

'Petrol?' Taking a slow sniff of his own, he scrunched his nose. Indeed, the car was leaking gas. Quite a large amount of it too, since his sense of scent hadn't been able to notice it until now – this was a bad sign. However, as long as nothing happened that made the car to start burning or him to be poisoned to death, it was safe. For Sesshomaru, at least. He wasn't all that sure about Kagome though.

"What should we do about him then, brother?" The other one asked, sounding farther away. Manten, was that what Hiten had called him? "Shall I -," his voice disappeared, "- the girl."

'What?' It was one thing to have difficulty scenting something – living in this cursed 21th century, with all the pollution from cars and fabrics, it happened from time to time – but losing his hearing… he had to get out of this carcass. And soon. Trying to shift as discreetly as possible, he hid his face in the crook of his arm, where his upper arm met his underarm. A makeshift protection, but it would do for now.

"I won't let you, you disgusting creatures from hell!" Sesshomaru's eyes shot open and he silently cursed. 'Stupid woman!'

"Hah? She's awake, brother!" came a confused cry, while the car carcass moved around with the clumsy harpy's movements.

"Then grab her, for God's sake. If you want her, then take her – I told you so."

"I won't let you, you ugly pricks!" Kagome cried.

'Thum-thuru-thump', it sounded as the brother's jumped down from the car, dull thudding disappearing away from the site, from the car and from Sesshomaru. As soon as he was sure they were gone he slowly got his hands underneath him before climbing out of the wreck. Dizziness wafting through him as he caught some fresh air, Sesshomaru sat on the car for several minutes. Then he started to search.

-ooo-

Kagome ran as fast as her legs could carry her. But days of misuse had affected her fitness; soon she was gasping for air and dragging heavy feet after her. Even so Kagome wouldn't stop; she had to lead the harpies away from Sesshomaru.

"_What should we do about him then, brother?" The big creature's voice rumbled through her tiny body as she still held her eyes closed. She could almost hear the smile that grew on his face. "Shall I call forth some thunder? So it may look like an accident? I want her, but I can't if someone else has claimed her. That male can very well be the mate of the girl."_

That_ made her freeze. But not for long as she heard a light chuckle. "Sure. I don't really care." _

_Biting down her fear she wrestled free from the disgusting harpy and screamed with all her worth, "I won't let you, you disgusting creatures from hell!" Then she jumped down from the car, staggering slightly as she hit the ground, but managed to somehow stay on her feet._

_The two demons looked baffled for a moment. Then Hiten grinned broadly, his light red eyes shining with amusement. Manten however looked merely confused._

"_Hah?" he managed to bark. "She's awake, brother!"_

_Hiten rose an eyebrow at Manten, a look on his face that clearly said 'Duh'. "Then grab her, for God's sake. If you want her, then take her – I don't really care."_

Now chasing after her, down the road in a dangerous play of tag. Chancing a glance back she saw… that the brother's weren't following anymore. This caused her to stop completely, looking back at the old houses that she hadn't noticed before. Somehow the old and uninhabited houses were an important fact for her to snap up. Still, scanning the road up and down she could still not see a sign for them.

She let the relief wash over her as she sagged against the rusty colored building at her side, but then another thought struck her. What if they had gone back to the car wreck, and really set fire to the car? With Sesshomaru still inside? Her heart gave a painful throb at the following thought; what would InuYasha do if Sesshomaru, the only link to his forgotten past, was dead? Kagome started forward when a whistle sounded.

"Oi. Girl. Up here."

Kagome didn't want to. But stupid instincts tock over reasonable thinking; looking up into the sky she saw the two harpies floating lazily, both of them having wings on their backs. Or, well, in Manten's case he was sitting on a cloud – how now that was possible – resembling Buddha quite a bit. Hiten had a pair of bad wings flapping speedily. Kagome started backing away, never letting her eyes stray from them or leaving her back in the open.

Hiten leered teasingly. "Now, now – we aren't going to hurt you. Much, at least. I am not even going to touch you." He cocked his head then. "Well, if ya don't want me to that is."

The look on her face must have been enough answer, for he started laughing. "No, no! That was to fun! Never in the name of Hell," he shouted, suddenly abandoning his silly character, "am I going to touch a disgusting _human_."

She sneered right back at him. "Funny; I've heard that somewhere before."

A quick twitch of his lips before Manten cried out at his brother. "Hiten! The girl is mine and mine alone! I won't share her with you!"

Hiten glared at his brother through half lidded eyes, then he smirked coolly, and crossed his arms behind his head. "Sure, sure. But do hurry up; I have a date with a cute little vixen this afternoon."

"The women always seem to flock around you and your beautiful long hair, brother," Manten said dreamily. Kagome felt strangely touched and disgusted by the scene the two brothers' played out before her. Then she only felt remorse when Manten's small, slit-like eyes looked at her again.

"Y-you better not touch me! My boyfriend will kill you if you do!" She cried. Then she slapped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide. 'Now, what the name of pink panties was that?'

"Your boyfriend is dead… or unconscious right now," Hiten said, but his smirk had cooled a few degrees.

Taking a deep shuddering breath Kagome threw herself into her role. Planting her hand confidently on her hips, she tilted her head. "_That_ was not my boyfriend. My cutie's name is… is… InuYasha! He is madly in love with me, you see – he would be devastated and furious if something were to happen with me."

"And we should care because..?"

Glaring straight into Hiten's softly glowing eyes, she smiled slowly. "He can find that which you are seeking."

Hiten didn't move or say anything, but Kagome could see how his eyes momentarily widened. "What do you know, wench?"

"I know plenty," she huffed, never looking away from the two creatures as she took slow deliberate steps back. One step, stop. Wait. The other leg –one step, stop. Almost like a dance.

"You are bluffing," Manten cackled. "Brother, there is no way this human could know anything about th-"

"Silence, you idiot!" Hiten shouted, pointing his finger at Manten. The toad looking creature shed away from the hand, and hurried to apologize.

Kagome stared confusedly at the display. Why was Hiten's finger causing such fear for Manten? She had only acted on the moment; seeing how they had pursued her all this way from the wreck, they must have something they were after. She gulped. Maybe it was _her_ they were after; some guys just couldn't take a hint.

The brothers turned their eyes back to her, catlike eyes versus gleaming red ones glaring at her with suspicion. "What do you know about it?" Hiten finally asked.

Frozen in a slow mid-step she giggled nervously. "Know about what?"

"See? I told you, brother," Manten muttered carefully. "She is only a girl – nothing except her outer appearance is worth acknowledging."

"E-ex_cuse_ me? How rude!"

Hiten regarded her silently. Then he smiled cruelly again. "No matter – we will just have to take her and then this 'InuYasha' will come for her; whether you know of that which we seek or if you don't matters little. Manten, collect her now, would you? The sun is about to set, and my vixen won't be waiting for me for too long."

"Of course, brother," Manten said. Then he slowly went down on his strange cloud until his feet met the asphalt. Kagome turned to run but a heavy hand caught her hair and yanked her back. She yelped and struggled to get free as an arm went around her and another hand placed itself on her shoulder, squeezing painfully. Ignoring the screaming pain from her scalp and the claws that pierced through her jacket and skin, she bit down hard until she drew blood.

Manten bellowed in shock as he let go of her, but then he grew furious. Kagome hadn't gotten more than a few steps away when he grabbed her by her throat and lifted her off the ground. "You little bitch!" he screamed, shaking her like a doll. Gulping and choking as she desperately tried to force down air in her lungs, she watched helplessly as Manten raised a hand. 'He's going to hit me!'

She closed her eyes and waited for the unenviable smack, but when a scream from Manten and shouts from Hiten's direction eroded she opened them again. Then Manten let go of her.

Before she hit ground another pair of arm's caught her, belonging to someone who's scent she had grown accustomed to; noodles and the homely scent of forest. Opening her eyes she stared up at the thick, billowing silver hair, the golden eyes and the laidback ears perched on top of the person's head.

"InuYasha," she whispered, and to her surprise she started sobbing.

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><p><strong>Woot, wooot! I'm on a roll! Some kind of writersblock has left me, momentarily, now so I write whenever I can. Hopefully I can produce one chapter per week, but I think I will let this one rest for a while; it sure was quite some time since I wrote on the other two!<br>Huh. Mama thinks I'm gonna wear out the keyboard. A sign, perhaps? *holy light shining on le computer***

**Either way, Please **Review**!**


	31. Means of Friendship

**You know the deal - not my characters, they belong to Rumiko Takahashi. Story is mine however - paws off! omo**

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><p>Growling a warning at the two brother's InuYasha crouched protectively, Kagome still in his arms. He could smell it on her; the fear of the two that stood before him, and something else. Something that it had been plenty of at the car wreck, something that he and Sesshomaru always could dismiss, but that humans like Kagome could not. He could smell the heavy iron of blood coming off her.<p>

Not leaving the harpies out of his sight, InuYasha did a quick check on Kagome; pressing a finger to her throat he counted her heartbeat, then he moved along to her arms and legs, checking if she was bleeding from anywhere there. Then he ruffled through her bangs carefully, and he flinched as his hands came in contact with something offending warm and wet. Taking back his fingers and bringing them close to his face he growled again at the redness that met him and the taunting smell that made him both want to puke and to tear the responsible ones apart.

"I take it that you are her InuYasha," one of the brothers said, swishing with his long brown hair. The motion caused the harpy's scent to waft in InuYasha's direction; the boy scrunched up his face at the disgusting mixture of rotten meat and male scent.

"I take it that you're the disgusting bastards that did this to her," InuYasha snarled while letting down Kagome gently to the ground. "I also take it that you are some poor excuses for being harpies; never heard of a shower before?"

The other one, which was exceptionally ugly, growled warningly back at him. "How dare you, you… whatever you are, little doggie!" He started cackling, a laugh that more sounded like a series of yips. "Wasn't that a good one, brother?"

Hiten smiled broadly, showing off pointed teeth. "Quite so, dear brother." Letting the smile falter, he cocked a brow at InuYasha who still shielded Kagome from view. Then he suddenly tensed, his eyes suddenly growing wider as he stared at them. "Hey, pup. Hand her over."

Tensing he crouched lower, dragging Kagome with him as he crept back. He growled, "No way, smelly! You ain't getting any piece of us!"

His twilight black wings flapped irritably; it sound could have been mistaken for someone shaking dust from blankets, had no one seen Hiten himself. Jerking his hand so his pointing finger and long finger were averted straight at InuYasha's chest he made a shooting motion, as if holding a gun and then firing it. The first second seemed to stretch as nothing happened, but then all came at once.

A penetrating crackle as a small blue orb was created from thin air, speeding toward Kagome and InuYasha. He swore for a half second, spun around in one and then attempted to launch himself and Kagome out of the dangerous bullet's way. But InuYasha was one second to slow.

Suddenly the both of them flew across the street; InuYasha curling in around Kagome while streetlamps, houses and cars passed in a blur. Crashing into a house, his back taking the hit first, the two of them landed in a tangled heap of limbs and splinters, Kagome on top of InuYasha.

Kagome coughed roughly, planted her hands tenderly on either side of InuYasha's head and then heaved herself up so she was looking down at him. Icy water slowly trickled down her back, when she saw dark liquid pooling around her friend's head.

"InuYasha?" she whispered, not quite believing the ashen face that was steadily losing color; almost as rapidly as the blood was flowing out around his head like a mock of a crown. Patting him gently on his cheek she continued in the same dumbfounded voice, "InuYasha?"

**Mwahaha! Sorry guys – I reaaaally felt like being a little mean. Well… So. I noticed now a misspelling I did in the last chapter – Hiten's wings are **_**not**_** bad. They're **_**bat**_** wings. Damn, how did I miss that? Mystery thickens…  
>I've also noticed how little synonyms and descriptions I use – very sorry! I'm working on it, so... please, be patient with me?<br>And, once more, Please Review – kind critique is always welcome!**


	32. Never Alone

**Same ol', same ol' - not mine characters. Rumiko Takahashi's. Story is mine. Grr.**

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><p>"Now, now, little girl lost. That is nothing to cry about; he was just a dog either way."<p>

Hiten had chosen to walk instead of using his wings; somehow the skin covered extra arms didn't feel needing in taking the girl. Smirking as he got to the hole the dumb dog had made, pieces of broken wood and bricks still falling from the sides, he climbed through and looked down at the couple. The human girl was sitting on dog-boy's chest, her left hand planted above his head and the other caressing his cheek. When she heard the clatter of feet behind her however, she glanced over her shoulder. Seeing who it was the girl flinched and laid down protectively over doggie's body. Hiten almost started to laugh; did she really believe she would stand a chance against him, the son of Aello?

He smiled broader at her trembling, but remembering the pulling feeling from before – and feeling it again now – he dropped it and swiftly grabbed her arm. The tugging in him was like a fragrance, the kind where you can smell the most mouthwatering buns, filled with the sweetest paste imaginable. But when finding the area of those buns you hit against a wall, undeniably high and not possible to go around. The feeling was so sweet, but he couldn't get close enough to taste what it was.

"I will take you with me, thank you very much!" Hiten hadn't thought that she would really even attempt to fight him, but then again she had been pretty confident earlier. Now she lashed out at him, attacking his eyes and face with her short nails.

"Murderer!" She shrieked, succeeding in scraping his chin before he caught her hand. "Murderer, you bloody smell-bag!"

Still fighting Hiten the girl tried to kick him, however and wherever she could; his shins and knees got some petty smashes while he thrived in rescuing his crotch from a knee going up. He gritted his teeth as he slung her over his shoulder, where she continued shrieking, kicking and hitting.

She was still screaming bloody murder when the other male arrived.

Hiten stared dumbfounded for a moment before laughing harshly and stalking to a stop a few meters from the stoic man. "Looks like you made it, jii-chan. But I'm sorry; you're not getting this girl back." He gave the girl's bottom a light pat and sneered widely as she hissed sharply at him. A dog-boy and a cat-girl? Oh, the irony…

The man didn't say anything. One small look at the girl flung over Hiten's shoulder, before he let his gaze wander from the harpy to the assaulted house. Sighing softly he called," Are you going to lie there all day, little brother?"

Hiten cocked an eyebrow at the man before him. "Brother? I'm sorry to tell you, but he is kinda' dead for the moment. Maybe you would like to go with him?" He smiled, lifting a hand that was not holding the suddenly quiet girl. Letting small flickers of electricity dance over his palm he tilted his head. "The head? Or the heart? Personally I like to play with my toys, but it tend to get quite ruff; one leg explodes in bits, hand gets burned off. Sadly I never get to play for long."

"Dead?" The silver haired man stared at Hiten with hard eyes. "Are you quite sure about that? If you are not, I suggest that you disappear – I am not in the mood to play." Lifting a delicate hand he gestured impatiently. "Give me the girl."

Said girl whimpered and wriggled until she could see the man she had been with barely an hour ago. "Sesshomaru… Sesshomaru…" Fat droplets of tears streamed down her cheeks; Hiten could feel them landing on his shoulder – he could almost smell the salt.

"Sesshomaru, eh?" The harpy narrowed his eyes in a mock gesture of remembrance. "Sesshomaru, Sesshomaru, Sesshomaru… nope, sorry – don't know you. But you can't be all that dangerous if you are here only now. Then again; you did survive that car-crash."

Sesshomaru didn't answer; instead he fixed a steadily cooling gaze at Manten, who was sneering insecurely. "You will not interfere." Then Sesshomaru tensed, crouched low to the ground and… vanished.

Both harpies looked around, one feeling fear while the other only felt annoyance. Not finding the "Sesshomaru" Hiten started to laugh. Nudging at the girl with his shoulder he said, "Is that the o so scary boyfriend of yours? Or was it the one in the house? I must say, you've got bad taste when it comes to men."

"Go to hell," she hissed angrily, trying to get her hands on his face. Grabbing her hands and squeezing them hard until she whimpered in pain he muttered right back, "Been there. Done that." Fixing his gaze on Manten he nodded with his head in the direction of the house. "Manten. Go check on the dog-boy – make sure he's dead."

Manten nodded. "Be right back, brother Hiten." Forcing his little cloud closer to the house Manten jumped down clumsily and went through the hole. Hiten could hear his large brother swearing and huffing as he waded through the debris, before a triumphant cry was heard. Moments later Manten peeked out through the hole, grinning largely.

"So? I take it that he's dead?" Hiten snickered. The girl whimpered again and muttered under her breath about murder and revenge. Paying no heed Hiten cocked an encouraging eyebrow.

Manten nodded rapidly. "Yes he is, brother. Blood has stopped flowing and he doesn't breath. He seems very much dead, just as the dog he is." He chortled loudly, rubbing his large bulk in content.

Hiten frowned. "Have you checked his body thoroughly?" Receiving a blank look he sighed heavily. "Really now; have you checked his pulse, for instance?"

Manten looked as if he was about to say something. But he only managed to open his jaw before a sudden eruption set the house into a chaotic cloud of dirt, splinters and gust. Manten's shriek was heard once before it suddenly got cut of; like someone pulling out the cord to a radio.

Fear stroke it's cold fingers along his spine, sending shivers in its wake. "Manten!" he cried, unconsciously letting the girl fall from his shoulder. He rushed as fast as his enormous batwings would allow, only to stop when he saw a silhouette emerge from within the smoke.

"Manten!" Hiten hurried toward his brother, his hand outstretched – but taking in the unfamiliar sight of red eyes and striped on the cheeks, Hiten blanched.

"Maggot," Dog-boy growled, low in his throat. Flicking with his hand a spray of blood whooshed across Hiten's face, clinging to his eyelids and lips. Hiten looked down, and saw his brother's severed head staring back. Unseeing eyes and a scream forever frozen on his little brother's face.

It was then he screamed.

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><p><strong>Suck. On. THAT! You little creep, patting Kagome however you feel like. So! What do you think? Another little "WtF?" chapter. Believe it or not, this story does have an ending and a sort of storyline. However, many different events occur, that may blend together a little.<br>Most tests are done over here, and in about four weeks it's Summer Holiday! Yay! Well, I guess it's gonna be the same all; write, games, write, sleep, games, games, MANGA!, games, sleep, write, BEACH! And so on.**


	33. Death and Despair Goes In Pairs

"No!"

Hiten fell to his knees beside his little brother's head, taking it up with trembling hands. He whispered his brother's name time after time again, before hugging it close to his chest, crying harder than he had ever thought possible. He didn't care about the bile that was rising in his throat, he didn't care that he had his little, loved brother's blood all over his hands. All he knew was that his comrade for two hundred seventy-four years now was gone, his beloved little brother who was so clumsy and always held a smile for him – that little brother was dead, and his laugh would never be heard again.

Fighting the heaving from his stomach Hiten rubbed his nose against Manten's forehead, before giving it a light peck. Closing his brother's eyes, and trying at settle Manten's face into something more peaceful than the never ending scream – but failing miserably as he dragged at the mouth, he let the head down gently on the dusty ground. Turning watery, burning eyes up at Dog-boy called InuYasha – the monster who had murdered his brother, he hissed loudly.

"You killed him," he hissed tonelessly. Standing slowly, staggering as he got up – funny, when had he last felt this weak? – he lifted his hands, palms up. As blue sparks started to dance across them, he glared heatedly at the other creature that was… "Stop your laughing!"

Roaring with hate Hiten unlashed his power, a wall of thunder and lightning creating a deep ditch in its wake. Stray bolts lashed out at the houses, light poles got hit and flickered before dying. Hiten rose from the ground with the intensity of his power, feeling his every being pulsate with energy and rage.

As the disturbed dust once more settled down Hiten could see the damage his rage had done; houses had massive holes bore through them, asphalt had been torn and battered till fine, small bits of black. The ditch in the middle of the road had gone from where he was panting heavily to the other side of the road – a good thirty meters.

He cackled; an insane sound that reverberated throughout the street. "The fool! The fool! He dared to touch one of Aeollos children!" Hiten laughed louder. "The fool! He thought he could take the Thunder Brother's on? He makes me laugh!"

Looking down and seeing his fallen brother, Hiten's expression sobered into a regretful and sad countenance. "Oh brother, little brother – do you see me? I've slain the one who hurt you so badly, I've avenged your regretful death. Brother, little brother Manten – I hope you find the mutt's soul in the afterlife and that you can exchange your revenge upon h-"

A white flicker caught his eyes. Quickly darting his head back and forth Hiten tried to catch the splash of silver, but every time he thought that he saw it the silver disappeared again. Underneath, by his shoulder, far away, even above him – a masculine laughter rang throughout the road.

"Where are you?" Hiten screamed, letting thunderbolts dart from his body. "You little coward – show yourself!"

Warm breath puffed at his neck. "Boh," Dog-Boy breathed. HIten swirled around, pointing with all of his ten fingers at the mutt… except his fiend wasn't there. Roaring Hiten let lose another thunderstorm around him.

"Show yourself, mongrel, or I will-" A sudden flash of claws and Hiten watched, feeling almost dumbfounded, as the dog-boy lashed out at him. Quickly dodging, Hiten managed to evade the deadly cut – however not all the way. He felt the skin at his front arm split open, and the warm blood pouring from the wound. Gritting his teeth he landed some distance away, clutching his arm.

Dog-boy sat at one barely standing light pole, clearly amused with himself; he had a broad grin on his face, large canines glinting from the light from the aftermaths of Hiten's sparks. "Now now; show some amount of respect. As ya can see, bastard harpy, I'm far stronger than you, even with those cute little fireworks of yours." Blood red eyes regarded him with the same interest as a lazy cat had with a mouse, within claw-distance.

Hiten spat blood on the ground and fixed his electric gaze at the boy high above him. Funny, Hiten couldn't remember this InuYasha having red eyes or unruly magenta stripes along his cheeks. He couldn't remember the mutt having such power that he could outtake one of them, one of the harpies. He glanced at his brother, lying several feet away from him, and winced. _Brother…_

"You don't deserve any amount of respect from me, mongrel," he growled before aiming with his uninjured hand at InuYasha. A blue orb quickly formed in front of his fingers, and then he made a shooting motion, letting the orb fly straight for InuYasha's chest. No one could evade this attack, Hiten knew. Not even this strange dog breed.

He almost smiled when the orb did hit straight in the chest; the dog boy made a grunting sound and flew away from the light pole, the orb's speed and power taking the boy with it. Another house became a victim for the ongoing assault; another crater was formed as InuYasha went through even this house.

Now Hiten wasn't smiling anymore; he was laughing. Did InuYasha really think that Hiten was that weak that he would die from such a _normal_ attack? The son of Aello, killed by something as _normal_ as claws? He laughed until tears streamed down his cheeks – if they were by the aching grief for his brother, for the foolish dog, or for his lost sanity, he didn't know. The situation was simply hilarious.

-ooo-

Kagome came to when a cool hand cradled her chin. Slowly opening her eyes she found herself staring into those golden eyes, those eyes whose person had saved her, who had made her laugh and kidnapped her.

"InuYasha!" she exclaimed before throwing her arms around him. As she clung to him like a baby koala, she noticed that it was something wrong with him; had he, for example, always been this tall? And why was he so incredibly stiff?

Blushing furiously she quickly let go of him. "S-sesshomaru!"

He had an eyebrow raised and a clenched jaw, which was grinding slowly back and forth. "Hn."

Still feeling the heat radiating from her cheeks, she turned to look at everything that wasn't Sesshomaru. What she saw made her blink slowly however; a huge hole not even eighteen meters from her, houses in ruins and – was that a body?

Shuddering she willed her eyes to look closer. Indeed; that was clearly a cleanly cut-off head. She glanced at the stoic werewolf beside her. Oddly enough Sesshomaru looked on edge, twitching now and again, looking over her head, up and around them. Raising an eyebrow of her own she spoke softly, "You okay?"

He twitched and looked at her quickly before turning his attention elsewhere – something that looked like a dark splotch. "Hn."

"'Hn' is no answer," she argued. Then she remembered. "Is InuYasha really… did he… is he…"

"Little brother is not dead," Sesshomaru began slowly, and Kagome let out a deep breath. "However, he is not him for the moment."

She froze. "What… do you mean?" she asked, equally slowly. Just then a low crackling noise was heard, before another house further down the street exploded. Almost jumping out of her skin, she whirled around once more to gaze down the road, but sees nothing more than more dust whirling up and around, almost like a giant mushroom.

"I mean he is him, but not himself," Sesshomaru stated, as if it was the simplest thing in the world and he could not believe how anyone could not understand that. This, of course, could not be seen on his face; the only hint there was two pairs of upraised eyebrows and amused eyes glinting at her away turned face.

"Very funny. Then please; explain to this ningen what it is he is if he is not himself yet he must be himself," Kagome prompted, still gazing at the mushroom cloud. Faintly she could feel her stomach rumble – when was the last time she had had a proper meal? She glanced at the dark splotch Sesshomaru had gazed at – and shuddered. Maybe she wasn't so hungry after all.

"That," Sesshomaru said and pointed with a delicate finger, "is my little brother currently toying with the harpy called Hiten. Unfortunately it seems my little brother's strange other side has awakened once more."

Snapping back into attention she broke her awe over the cloud and watched Sesshomaru with wide blue eyes. "His other side? You mean-"

She didn't get to tell him what she thought he meant; just then another crackling was heard, much closer this time. Sesshomaru cursed, actually cursed, as he leapt forward, gathered her in his arms and then leapt high up in the air. Kagome forgot to scream as he did so; one moment Mother Earth was right there, by her feet. The next it was gone, several meters away.

"Kindly refrain from screaming," Sesshomaru murmured, arms circled around her waist. "My hearing is quite acute."

"Are you kidding? This is like a free fall – only reversed!" She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. Catching his baffled look she smiled. "And, thank you for, you know, rescuing me from… whatever _that_ was."

Kagome looked down again, holding Sesshomaru's arm tightly. Seeing nothing but more dust and gravel, she was about to ask Sesshomaru about it again, but then the dirt seemed to settle down, allowing her to see two black figures jumping and dodging. Sometimes blue light would flare before an explosion sounded.

"Who are they?" said Kagome, oddly remembering something about an explosion from before. She tried to illuminate an image that matched her memory, but everything was blurred together, like water and mud in a pot. Kagome felt a pang in her heart when she remembered the tears that followed that kind of noise; blood and tears.

Sesshomaru gave her an odd look, before looking down himself. "That is little brother," he said, pointing at a fast moving sliver of silver, "and the harpy Hiten."

Kagome felt her heart stop in her chest. Not daring to breathe she asked, "InuYasha?"

She felt a rumble at her back, something that closely resembled contained laughter. Was Sesshomaru laughing at her? "This Sesshomaru does not have other brothers," he said calmly.

Inhaling sharply and feeling her heart starting to thump in an unnatural speed, she started to wriggle. "We have to help him! He can't take on that prick on his own!" Kagome took hold of the arms around her and tried to bend them, even though she knew it was useless; it was like trying to mold cold steel. "Sesshomaru, let me down!"

He sighed exasperatedly. "As you wish."

Then he dropped her.

She let out a scared yelp at first, but then seeing the ground she had wanted to be at coming at a much faster and more alarming rate, she let out a bloodcurdling shriek. Instinctively she waved with her arms, spreading her limbs to the sides as if hoping her body would catch wind under her and carry her away. She suspected that all she would manage would be a red fleck on the hard surface, closing in on her. Then there was suddenly a yank at her neck, and she felt herself being hauled up, instead of hurdling down. She grabbed desperately at whatever was holding her, and tugged it close. Kagome started to cry with relief, and tremble with dread as she felt death's stare leave her soul – for now.

Somehow the memory of being out fishing with her father at the tender age of six came to her. Being too curious about the life underwater Kagome had fallen into the water. Her father hadn't noticed until she had nearly drowned; the next thing she knew her father had jumped in after her and grabbed her light green jacket by the collar. Then she had also cried and clung to her father, while he had screamed at her for being so thoughtless. Kagome hadn't known it then, but her father's reaction was not anger; it was fear that had gripped him.

But somehow she got the feeling that Sesshomaru wouldn't scream at her because he was afraid she would die.

"Foolish," he murmured, amusement sparkling in his voice. "Did you really believe that I would let you die, just like that? Foolish."

She hiccupped once, then glared at him through teary eyes. Kagome was pretty sure her nose was running, but she didn't care. "Then why let me fall in the first place?"

He shrugged lazily. "I simply complied with your wish."

"To let me fall to my death?"

Sesshomaru gave her a funny look. Kagome shook her head at him and leaned her head against his chest. Then something else hit her. "How the hell can we still be in the air?"

"Hnn?"

Kagome looked up at him, her fear and anger momentarily forgotten. "How can we still be in the air? Are we standing on something or… is this some kind of magic?" She dropped her voice into a dramatic whisper, looking down once more at her feet. Some kind of strange soft _air_ was circling her legs; it was like standing on water, only a little harder. And opaque; a long way under her she could see houses, lightning and dust – she got the feeling of watching the heat dance over asphalt in the summer.

"Not magic," he murmured," simply my birthright." As if to prove his point he drifted higher, until the only thing Kagome could see was the lightning far, far beneath them.

She gripped his arm tighter, peeking out her head as far as she dared. After a while though she sighed, and turned to look at him. "Show-off," Kagome grinned. Then she sobered up, letting her smile falter from her lips. "Now, take me down."

He answered by tightening his arms around her. "No."

An electricity of her own seemed to enter Kagome; she glared at him, tugging at his arms. "Now, Sesshomaru. I'm not kidding around."

"Neither am I," he said. "I will not let you get into a fight that is not yours, only to let you die an unnecessary death. It is not negotiable."

"When did you become so protective of _humans_, Sesshomaru?" Kagome stared at him with fury. "I'm only a human, right? I'm not worthy to be saved either way, so why are you still up here, holding a _ningen_ in your arms?"

-ooo-

That startled him – since she was right of course. Why was he saving this girl's butt, even though she was human? Why was he holding a human so close to his person, when he had sworn, ages ago, that he would never do so again?

He realized then that she was still staring at him. "Let. Me. Down. Sesshomaru." Kagome bit out. "InuYasha is down there."

_As if that would make a difference_, he thought smugly. But then what surprised him was that he _was_ descending down to the battle, although he hadn't had any intention of doing so. Had he been any other than the great Sesshomaru, he would have been afraid of the clear lack of control over his own body – but then, being who he was, he figured that his subconscious had decided this a long time ago.

Kagome's expression had softened; those dark blue eyes were now a calm pond again, not the stormy sea that had glared at him. "Thank you, Sesshomaru."

Although he couldn't figure out _why_ his subconscious would decide something like this. "Hnn."

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><p><strong>Well. Mostly a filler chapter. Nothing big, really. Although, I get the feeling I'm starting to involve Sesshomaru in something o.o''<br>Maybe I've been reading too much Vampire Diaries lately?-w-'  
><strong>

**This chapter did experience a loss though. A personal one. Last thursday (almost a week ago) I found my cat lying outside in the rain. Something had killed him, bitten him in the head and throat. Only a few meters from the house. Somehow I wanted to get the heartbreak feeling I felt from that into Hiten, but... nothing can really compare. 12 years, just gone. Hum...**

**Yep, I'm wimpy. But I'm also an animal-lover, and a big teary thing that starts pouring at the first sight of sadness in a movie, manga or anime - no matter how small or if it's just a joke.**

**Still. Schampis died for this chapter! All hail the cutiness of the Rolling-on-floor-cat!  
><strong>

**Also -  
><strong>

**~Please review~**


	34. Blood

**I don't own InuYasha characters. If I did, I wouldn't have to go to school. InuYasha belong to Rumiko Takahashi.**

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><p>Being who she was it was no surprise that the moment her feet connected with earth Kagome was up and running to where she thought InuYasha was. But then again, being who she was didn't mean she was overly reckless. Instead of rushing to InuYasha's aid and God knew she wanted to do so, badly she tried to use her badly aching head to figure out a solution to it all. First off was to find the half-wolf.<p>

A crackling noise and a loud explosion further down the street gave her the only clue she needed. Kagome started running, flicking her gaze from house to house, down the road and up in the air but she could see neither InuYasha nor the disgusting harpy.

Running by the dead man Manten, she thought Kagome tried hard not to look in his direction. Another boom in front of her, closer this time, she slowed and then darted to hide behind a barely whole car. Peeking around the corner she saw a blue light before another crackling was heard. As the predicted blast exploded some distance from her Kagome could see a silver dart toward her hiding place. A soft _thunk_ and the car wobbled slightly, giving Kagome a slight heart attack was she about to get killed by this? A _car_? before it steadied itself.

Daring a peek at the top she saw billowing silver hair pooling down a strong back, ears perked up and slightly back. The man on the car had his face turned away from her, yet she knew what she would find there; those kind and warm molten orbs that she had become accustomed to.

Kagome slowly pulled her out of her hidingplace and reached a hand up to touch InuYasha's foot, desperately needing to reassure herself that he was indeed there and not an illusion that the real InuYasha wasn't lying in debris, surrounded by his own blood.

Before her hand made contact with him however he had spun around and jumped so fast that she never saw him move. Suddenly she felt hot breath at her neck and two clawed hands closed around her wrists. Her heart started hammering at an insane speed as she stared at the claws. She frowned; had InuYasha's claws always been so… _long_ before?

InuYasha took a deep breath. "Kagome," he growled slowly. He sounded as if he had never said her name before, that now was the first time that he tasted it. Kagome shuddered.

"I-InuYasha," she whispered back. His claws dug into her wrists slightly in response to his name, causing her to wince back against him. Then suddenly he was gone. The sudden loss of support caused her to stumble, which probably saved her life. A second later the ground before her exploded.

Suddenly she felt herself flying through the air, headfirst backwards. She thudded into the ground, knocking the breath and scream out of her. Gravel rained over her, landed in her mouth, in her nose and ears, effectively stopping air from entering her system. Kagome coughed frantically, slowly turning on her side as she tried to get the abusive dirt off of her. As pain spread all along her back she regretted her action immensely.

A shadow loomed over her how she could see that in this dark night she had no idea. Kagome got the crazy idea that it was InuYasha and began to form his name on her lips when the shadow suddenly spoke.

"Who… are you?"

She opened her eyes slowly, careful not to get dirt into her eyes. Staring up at InuYasha and just about to retort with a stinging comment, she stopped as she took in his appearance. The lovely gold in his eyes were gone and were now a blood red color that seemed able stare into your very soul, were you not careful. His cheeks had rough stripes, not very unlike those Sesshomaru had.

What scared her the most was the way he seemed to eye her like a prey. So this was what Sesshomaru meant when InuYasha was him yet not himself.

"InuYasha…" Kagome whispered. She saw something jump up behind him and opened her mouth to warn him… only he weren't there anymore. Hiten, on the other hand, was.

He regarded her coldly before looking around with an angry frown on his face. "Mutt!" he screamed. Not finding what he was looking for the harpy shrieked low in his throat. Then he looked at her again.

It was a moment that brought memories of watching old cartoons on Sundays back to her. She could just imagine the light bulb going off above his head as a slow, menacing smile spread over his face. Tentatively he lifted a hand, pointed at her with his forefinger before shouting again. "Mutt! I swear I'll kill her if you don't give yourself up!"

"Why should I care?" InuYasha's voice bounced around the area, as if he was everywhere around them. Kagome looked around carefully, trying not to hurt herself anymore by using a sore muscle, but also keeping an eye on Hiten. He also didn't seem all that sure as to where her friend was.

A silver streak jumped over Hiten's head, landed and was gone in the next moment. Hiten whirled around, but had already lost sight of it. "Because," Hiten gritted out, "she is your human, is she not?"

_Your human_. Great, now she had a receipt paper on her too. She reached behind her slowly, searching for something that she could use as a weapon. _Asphalt, asphalt, hole, grass, dirt, glass, glass, foot…_ Wait, foot?

Kagome hadn't more than thought that with nauseating realization before she was yanked by her forearms up, around and pressed against InuYasha's chest. She gasped and tried looking at him, but he tightened his arms around her and she had to bend over to not scream in agony. Couldn't he _smell_ her discomfort or whatever?

He nuzzled his nose into her hair and took a deep whiff. "Yes. She sure smells mine," he growled, taking another whiff. "Who is the male?"

She gasped. "Are you calling me… a _male_?"

InuYasha growled warningly at her, turned toward Hiten and… ran. Kagome blinked the surprise out of her; in one moment she had been staring up at a narrow eyed Hiten, in the next the two of them were behind the harpy. She had to suppress yet another gasp when InuYasha roughly released her, strode forward and embraced Hiten.

Now this… was the weirdest thing since she had gotten used to the idea of a half-werewolf who turned dog at day.

"What are y-!" HIten roared, flailing as he tried to break free. InuYasha paid it no heed; instead he nuzzled his nose into Hiten's neck and breathed deeply. Kagome felt like facepalming herself; InuYasha was merely checking his _scent_, dammit. And here she had thought he had other preferences.

InuYasha released Hiten and danced several meters away. "You are not the male," he murmured thoughtfully. Then he smiled. "Good." Kagome felt a cold shiver run down her spine at his resemblance to Sesshomaru in that moment; the cold look, the expressionless voice. Then she looked around with a frown; where was he, by the way?

"You bastard!" Hiten cried, red coloring every inch of his face and neck. He rose his hand fast again, forefinger pointing at InuYasha and fired. This time InuYasha didn't get the chance to run.

The fizzling ball hit him in his abdomen and exploded, the force of the compact lightning sending him flying. The boy didn't scream. He didn't cry out in surprise, and he didn't have the time to jump out of harm's way. Instead he thudded to the ground, jumping like a stone that jumps over water. Then he lay eerily motionless.

"InuYasha!" Kagome screamed and started running to him, desperate to feel his pulse under her fingers. _Not again, not again, not again…_

Hiten however stopped her with a hand clamped down on her forearm. "You aren't going anywhere!" he shouted at her, eyes burning with anger.

She struggled, screamed and kicked at him. "Let me go! Let me go!"

"Haven't we already done this before?" he asked. He looked at InuYasha, smiled and glanced at her. "I will just get rid of a _pest_. Then we can return to whatever we were doing."

He lifted his hand again, holding it as if it were a gun. The crackling started.

Kagome saw red. She jumped at him, causing him to grab hold of her other hand so she wouldn't claw his eyes out. "No!" she screamed, grabbed one arm that was holding her in place and squeezed.

A pure pink light poured from her hand, onto Hiten's arm. He screamed in agony, trying to break free from the girl as the light started eating away at his flesh.

"Let go, bitch!" he howled, finally succeeding in shaking her off of him. Immediately the burning stopped, only small tendrils off smoke floating from his arm. Kagome had a dreamlike expression on her face before she blinked rapidly, shaking her head. She looked down at her hands where only a faint light was present before it too disappeared.

Kagome looked up slowly, not really daring to see the harpy in front of her, yet knowing that she had to. What she saw made her shake all over.

Half of Hiten's left arm was gone. His hand, lower arm, all the way up to his elbow was burned away. Left behind was a stump, which Hiten himself was staring devastated at. The odd thing though was that there were no burn damages, no scars, not even blood or anything of the sort. Only a smooth surface remained where Hiten's arm once had been.

He stared at her with a mixture of pure horror and anger, and maybe a little drop of respect. The harpy backed away from her, cradling his stumped arm in his hand, turned and ran. Soon he was only a fleck in the slowly lightening day.

* * *

><p><strong>Taste that, little harpy! <strong>

**And, yes, we're gonna see more of him in the future. (By the way, I'm gonna get an A in Swedish class! I'm so freaking happy! Got a 9,4 out of 10! Goooosh!)**

**Please review!**


	35. Dreaming

**Woot! Already (or late?) a new chapter! As usual, InuYasha characters belongs to the amazing Rumiko Takahashi!**

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><p>Sesshomaru was sure he hadn't seen anything of the like in over a hundred years; that light consuming the harpy's arm. He knew what it meant – agonizing pain and regret for anything out of the human world – but he had been sure that the last one able to use that power had been wiped out along with his homeland. Apparently he was wrong, which he wasn't overly pleased to find out. However, it was interesting to say the least.<p>

The harpy was far away by now as the werewolf decided to approach his companions. Briefly glancing at his still lying but breathing brother, he strode to a stop before the girl. She was staring at her hands as if seeing them for the first time.

He contemplated clearing his throat to make his appearance known. However, it somehow felt like he would violate her thoughts if he did.

"You know, I think I saw grandpa do something alike once," she suddenly said, turning her hands and looking at them thoughtfully. "Only a small light from his finger, but it resembles this. Though I always thought it was some kind of trick. He had always said that our family was descendants from the holy Templars, but I never believed him." She trailed a line on her left palm, chuckling drily. "Guess I was wrong."

"Hnn," Sesshomaru murmured, not quite comfortable with the utterly _calm_ Kagome before him. Shouldn't she be up and yelling, crying or rushing to InuYasha's side by now?

Kagome looked up at him. Her azure blue eyes were filled with an old wisdom and such sadness that even he felt it hard to do so. "How is InuYasha?"

He glanced at his brother. "Breathing. Hurt, but he will live."

She let out a soft sigh. "Good." Then her eyes rolled back in her head and she toppled over.

-ooo-

_Dark blue flames surrounded her. A beautiful kobold color that cast dark shadows over her skin and tainted her tresses in blueberry blue. Yet it was the small, almost invisible, ball in the middle of the sea of fire that drew her nearer to it. _

_When her shoulder brushed against a particular bold flame, she didn't flinch nor did her skin burn. Instead a cool, almost cold, touch spread throughout from the spot. _

_She should be surprised; she should at least wonder what she was doing there. But all that mattered was that ball that started glowing more brilliantly the closer she got._

_She stopped in front of it and just gazed at it. It was glowing with a pure, pulsating white that seemed to follow her heartbeats; _bo-boom, bo-boom, bo-boom.

_Her hand lowered automatically to collect the ball to her; it was hers, she knew that. What it was for didn't matter as long as it was with her._

_The moment her fingers brushed the ball it exploded in a blinding white; it blew out the blue fires around her, licked the sides of her and bleached her eyes. When she once more looked around the world was a pure white, not a fleck or movement of color visible. _

_Looking down at the ball in her closed fist she finally understood. The ball was hers, yes. But it wasn't a ball._

_This room and ball was her soul, but this ball was different somehow._

_She felt the same pulsating coming up through her arm; _bo-boom, bo-boom_._

_This ball wasn't her soul; it was her heart._

_As she realized the room dropped the white, like someone pressing a light switch; suddenly the room was the darkest of black. Only the orb in her hand continued its beating, though it's light steadily dimmed._

_The first spark of panic settled in her as her instincts kicked in; dark meant trouble, trouble meant evil. And somehow she knew it was her heart the monsters were after._

_Cradling it to her chest, she turned and ran, hoping against hope that she would be able to find some light, anything that could protect her and her heart._

_Glancing backwards she saw shadows hunting after her; one managed to stroke her calf before it glided away again. Half-sobbing, half-gasping she pressed herself harder._

_There! Someone stood there in front of her! Her heart, the orb, pulsated more quickly at the sight of silver hair._

_She opened her mouth to scream, to warn him, get him to help her – but no sound passed her lips. Neither was she able to reach him. One shadow had gotten to her, holding her mouth in one hand – paw? – and another, a tail, holding her legs together._

_She struggled – he was right there, in front of her! Only a few more meters and she would reach him! She struggled more, attempting to kick the shadow, but her foot went right through it. _

_Then the shadow lowered it's head – she hoped it was a head – and spoke to her. "He won't save you. Why would he do that? Aren't you simply someone he enjoy keeping captive, someone that he not even care about?" A male voice, silky and just as malicious sounding as the shadows now surrounding her. Looking down she saw that the tail had lost is shadowy form – around her legs were now a _real_ one._

_Its other hand came to her cheek, caressing it softly as if she at any moment would break and fall apart. "He would have heard you by now if he wanted to, right? Then why is he so indifferent to you, my dear?" She saw how the boy with silver hair began to walk away from her, not looking back. "That boy doesn't care whether or not you die; just another lifetime that he has lived through."_

_The hand covering her mouth disappeared and she drew in a breath to call out to _him_. But the boy was gone; not even his silver hair was visible anymore._

_She swirled in place, determined to punch the shadow in its face, but before she could two hands gripped hers. Looking up she found herself staring into blood red eyes, so evil looking that she wanted to retch in fear. Long, curled hair tumbled down his head, over his shoulders in a never ending cascade._

_The red eyed man before her smirked, and ran his thumbs absentmindedly over her knuckles. She gripped her heart tighter in her hand, trying to hide its rapidly disappearing light. "You could be loved, dear. You could be cared for. If you give that to me."_

_He rose the hand which was holding her heart. She flinched and tried to break free, but to no avail._

_She could only watch helplessly as his snake tongue went out, wrapped around her heart which light was almost gone by now, and he swallowed it._

-ooo-

Kagome gasped awake, gripping her covers tightly and blinked rapidly, desperately trying to get rid of the sleep that demanded the right to overrule her. Holding a hand to her heart that was beating at an insane rate she drew a shuddering breath and leaned her head onto her knees.

After having breathed steadily for a few minutes she tried to remember what she had dreamt about that frightened her so. But she couldn't; her memory was blank. The only thing she could remember though was red eyes and the feeling of her heart dying.

She shuddered and lay down, closed her eyes and attempted to catch a few more hours of sleep, seeing as the sun was on its way up. She yawned and curled into a ball. Then she bolted upright.

Posters, computer, bed. Even the little necklace with a pink stone on that she had gotten from her father hanging on the doorknob.

Kagome was home. After being away for so long. How many days had it been? A week? Or more? Less? It didn't matter; she was home again.

"InuYasha!" she breathed, afraid to wake her mother. She smiled hugely, looked around her room in hunt for the boy – or dog, she never really knew when he changed from one form to the other. But soon her smile dimmed, turning down at the corners of her mouth. Frowning worriedly, she threw her legs over the edge of the bed and put her hands on her sides to give her support as she motioned to stand.

A crunching sound came from her hand, making her jump. Kagome sighed and laughed nervously at her own skittishness – really, what was she so afraid of? Then she frowned even more, held the offending paper close to her face in the soft light and read the few words written there.

_-InuYasha is safe. Your mother is worried for you and was up, thus I broke your window. My apologizes-_

Glancing at said window she smiled in exasperation; indeed, claw marks that big would be hard for her to conceal. She was still smiling when she read the last words.

_-Refrain from searching for me and my brother. We won't appear in your life again.-_


	36. Limbo

**InuYasha characters belongs to Rumiko Takahashi**

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><p>Three days went and gone. Every day Kagome checked outside her window for any sign of a silverhaired male – or males – that could be lurking around. But as she always knew, they wouldn't be there. She couldn't help but hope though; how could they just leave her here, just like that? After all they had been through? She had faced <em>death<em> for their sake, for bloody hell!

Her mother had now finally calmed down. The first morning had been the worst; her mother had been crying and clinging to her daughter as if afraid that the moment she let go the younger woman would disappear. Her strong, independent mother had been crying by the mere sight of her that day. The next she had calmed down, but wouldn't let Kagome out of her sight; if she was to leave the room she always had to tell her mom where she was going.

Kagome herself had gone through all the steps in her emotional lane by now; denial, hurt, anger. Now, the third day without the supernatural, she was beginning to accept and think that maybe everything had been a dream after all. But then she would shake herself and scream; how could you imagine the now ruffled and rough looking paper with those words on it? How could she imagine her mother's paranoia for days, or her own cuts and bruises that were beginning to fade?

Her dreams were the worst; every night she would be running, scared to death, from something dark. The scenery in the dream was never the same, but the development however was. She would find an object surrounded by something strange but yet gentle. Then the moment she touched it and realized what the place and the object represented, the dream would change. In place of the gentle shadows of disgust, anger and jealousy would brew. Afraid she would start running, _things_ rushing to catch up with her. Then she would be caught by one, see InuYasha walk away from her, and then hear the same demand – _"Give it to me"_ – before the creature swallowed her heart.

Always she would awake with a strangled scream, gasping for breath and clutching the front of her shirt near her furiously beating heart. The first thought would be to reach for InuYasha or call for him – but that was before she remembered that he wasn't there anymore, and that he wouldn't ever be there for her anymore. Funny how attached you can become in a matter of days.

'_I blame those furry ears of his'_, Kagome thought now as she sighed heavily into her math book. Lazily she let her gaze travel round the classroom. She had been through so much that she had thought something would have changed, changed as much as she had. Yet everything was the precise thing that it had been before her "kidnapping". _Especially_ her classmates.

"Kagome!" the three girls squealed as they crowded around her. Kagome smiled tiredly at them.

"Hey, guys," she murmured, hoping she didn't sound too bored.

"So, I heard you was missing for nearly a week," Eri said. Noticing Kagome stirring at the sentence, she smiled like a cat that had just gotten the large bowl of cream. "So… I-"

"-we-" Yuki smiled.

"-was wondering…" Eri made a dramatic pause, looked at Kagome expectantly. Kagome could just see that cat's face, demanding more cream – hopefully with catnip in it.

"Wondering what?" she finally asked, seeing as Eri wouldn't end her sentence.

Yuki and Eri smiled mischievously at each other. Ayumi had an eyebrow raised at them, but didn't say anything.

"Who is he?" they asked simultaneously.

Kagome groaned loudly. "Not this again...Ayumi, help me here," she moaned, locking pleading eyes with her most "normal" friend.

Ayumi replied her compassion for Kagome through her eyes, but otherwise only shook her head. No help there then. Kagome groaned again and mentally put her chatter-proof armor on.

"Come on – it _must _be a he if you're away from school for so long!" Eri chimed, batting her eyelashes at her exhausted friend.

Yuki nodded. "Excatcly. And you couldn't have been sick right? You never are."

"Hey! I can get a cold you know," Kagome protested weakly.

This time Ayumi spoke up. "Kagome, not even your mom knew where you were." At Kagome's, and the other two's struck faces, she sighed. "I do know where you live, you know? I got worried…"

Sudden unexpected tears started to flow and then Ayumi found a bawling raven haired girl clutching her for dear life.

-ooo-

"What an ass."

"Such a jerk."

"Yeah. In _plural_; jerks and asses."

Her friends had dragged her out of the classroom, escaped the teacher's watchful eyes and hid at the nearest WacDonalds, where they occupied a booth farthest from the door and the windows. Since then they had begun ordering in milkshakes and ice cream every ten minutes. It was consumed mostly by Kagome who now finally let her feelings out. Though odd, sitting here with her friends from _school_ of all places, it was a nice change from the dull life at home. Especially with her hen-mom.

She told them everything, just not quite _every_thing; she couldn't really tell them that they all were living in a world where the supernatural from TV and books were real, right? Then they would just laugh at her, or possibly think she was crazy. Come on; a boy with dog ears? Harpies?

"So he, like, was real sweet in the beginning, you know?" she sobbed, stuffing her mouth with cold ice cream, not caring in the least that she had a brain freeze. "Made me laugh, comforted me about dad and Souta, grandpa… and then just BANG; there I am, left behind and I don't even know why. What is he doing, trying to protect me or push me away?"

Chocolate ice cream. Yum. She took a big spoon of the brown deliciousness and scarfed it down. Yum, definitely what the doctor ordered.

"Maybe he was," Yuki said thoughtfully as she took a sip of her vanilla milkshake. "He had a brother right? Tall, kinda mean to you? Maybe this InuYasha wanted to protect you from 'this Sesshomaru'."

Eri and Yuki both laughed at the impersonating of him, and Kagome almost smiled at their antics. Almost. Remembering the two werewolves though sent her into a new fit of grumbling, sobbing and crying all over again.

"Can you guys stop being so inconsiderate? Kagome's really sad right now." Ayumi growled at the two other girls, her normally kind eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. That effectively shut the snickering girls up, and all three turned to coo and comfort Kagome once more. They sat there with her until all her tears were dry and night had descended upon the city once more.

-ooo-

InuYasha paced back and forth on the roof of an apartment building. Sometimes he would mutter something under his breath, casting a glance on the opposite side, and then he would start pacing again. Once he actually growled, when he accidentally kicked his foot a little too hard into a nearby vent.

Three days had gone by and he had woken up the second. The first thing he saw wasn't the dark air that he had fallen into. Instead he had been staring at the roof of his own room; brown splotches of water damage spreading out across it and dead flies clustering inside the roof lamp.

Instinctively he had tasted the air inside his room, sorting out the disgusting smells, searching for the only clean and cheerful thing that could be in this house. When he didn't find it immediately he shot up from his mattress, wincing slightly at the strain in his stomach, but paid it no heed as he smelt frantically around himself. InuYasha used his ears too, searching for the gentle breathing he had been accustomed to in less than a week. His ears twitched, turned this way and that in line with his nose's trembling. Panic had flooded him when he couldn't hear her, nor smell her; Kagome's gentle and clean smell had become more shallow and hard to sort out.

He had called for his brother, mentally surprised at his own rough and hoarse voice. Sesshomaru had come in, listened to his little brother's antics for a while before telling him that Kagome was gone. Not gone as in _dead_, he had explained as the boy started cussing and swearing. Only gone as at home, where she should be, from where she should never have been taken.

Oh, InuYasha had argued. He had shouted and pleaded, begged that they had to protect her. Who knew when that harpy would come back? Who knew who the harpy called Hiten would find first; the brother's or Kagome? He had screamed that Kagome couldn't protect herself; they had to be there for her.

Sesshomaru had gotten a strange look on his face, but merely nodded. However, he had forbidden InuYasha from revealing himself to either the girl or her mother. It would be disastrous if either of them recognized him in his dog-form.

Now InuYasha had been on that roof since early morning, gazing with his dog-eyes at the scenery below him; there was the mother, walking away from the house slowly, almost as if she wasn't sure she really wanted to go. Probably of to some low paying work, working her ass off to fed herself and her daughter. He remembered Kagome crying that night when Sesshomaru had stormed into the house, about how her mother worked all day and long into the nights so that they could pay the rent. Later she had explained her mom's situation with being pregnant with Kagome in college and so had been forced to drop out. InuYasha snuffed, and continued to pace as the mother disappeared out of sight.

He waited until Kagome came out, clad in a white and green sailor suit. Even from that distance he could see the red rimmed eyes and the tousled hair that she hadn't bothered to brush that morning. Somewhere in the pit of his stomach, he felt a strange tug at the sight; it urged him to run, jump, throw his body out into midair, only he could be down there with her and comfort her.

Another feeling, this time coming from his head, told him to hold it and think this through. His common sense, as people used to call it.

_If you go down there right now, you could lead the harpy – or something else – to her, _it urged. InuYasha got the feeling that if his common sense had had a body, it would definitely been that of an old man; knowledgeable, yet not prepared to jump into action. His common sense was a coward, by every means. Moreover, InuYasha wasn't a coward; this time however, he chose to listen to the old man.

Still, it was nerve-racking to see her walk away from the house where he had first – or rather, secondly – met her. Whatever it was that had been standing over Kagome when InuYasha finally found her; however large its evil intentions were, it had brought them to form a friendship, something that he valued higher than he had ever done before.

He didn't dare follow her. Not only for the fear of being noticed and questioned – and God knew she would have many questions for him – but also for his own cowardice. Apparently, his common sense was rubbing off on him.

Hours went as he waited for her to come back home. Darkness fell and he changed into his humanoid form, which made it harder for him to move unnoticed. Shuddering as he crouched down, a slight flick embarrassed at his nude form, he continued his watch. Thankfully the moon wasn't that large that night, having moved into a new cycle a few nights ago. It didn't light him – or more specifically his hair – up, so he could spy on everyone below him without anyone being able to see him.

By now though, he was quite restless and worried. Why had she not come home yet? Did school usually take this long? InuYasha shook his head and sighed. Not that he would know, never had the chance to attend school or kindergarten due to his strange hair, eyes and – what did' ya know? – his ears.

He crossed his arm over his chest, trying to keep some warmth as his natural impatience made him start to tap his fingers against his biceps. _Tap, tap, tap_.

An old woman with an equally old cart came toddling down the street and stopped underneath him. Curious he leaned over, only to see her straighten up and leer a toothless smile at the soda bottle in her hand. She tossed it into the cart where it rattled around with its siblings. The creaks of the wheels signaled the cart and its owner's departure.

InuYasha huffed. Apparently he wasn't the only creature in this cruel world that only could come out after dark.

If he would be completely honest with himself he didn't really know whether or not he really deserved to be in this world. Sesshomaru wasn't saying anything –which was normal – but InuYasha could see the looks his older brother had sent him the day before. They had been cold and indifferent, but in them there was also a… wariness that hadn't been there before. Not before the fight with Hiten and Manten anyway.

Watching the disappearing form of the woman he frowned, thinking back to the last time he had actually seen Kagome. A soaring pain before he had been hurled with Kagome in a tight and protective embrace, into a building. InuYasha had seen her raven dark curls before thousands of spots flickered in and out of focus. Then – darkness.

The next thing he knew he was at home, hurt all over and searching for her. But what had happened between the memory of her and Sesshomaru's new behavior?

Feeling a headache coming he allowed his eyes to close.

-ooo-

InuYasha awoke much later to the sound of light footsteps – which was odd. He usually didn't wake up simply to feet that sounded so far from him. Deciding to let it slide and continue to dream – his mother was holding him close, whispering promises – he burrowed into a tight ball on the ground.

A ghostly stroke across his skin made him shiver; damn, it was cold here! With a sigh he let go of the dream, tentatively rolled to his knees and sneezed. Then he blinked warily and yawned widely, his tongue curling. With a soft sigh he closed his mouth, smacking lightly to get some moisture into his mouth. Then he looked down at the alley below, seeing nothing but darkness. Even the light poles had abandoned their lights in favor of the early morning.

He yawned widely again, stretched his hands above his head and felt bones pop in his shoulders and back. With a satisfied sigh he let his arms fall, rolled his shoulders and then listened.

The footsteps were gone. Or they had never been there. Either way, it wasn't anything to worry about, not for the moment at least. Looking down at the street he saw nothing out of the ordinary – well, maybe that one-eyed cat currently glaring up at him was cause of some suspicion. He bared glinting fangs at the cat way below him, who furred up its body to an impossible size, hissed up at him and then ran down the street, around a corner and out of sight. InuYasha snickered to himself, and turned to sit down with his back against the low wall that surrounded 'his' roof.

The hand that wrapped around his throat caught him completely off-guard. Being lifted up into the air by the very same hand he gasped and clawed at it, trying to find some sort of vital point to make it let go.

His fingers connected with a slimy substance – resembling that of a snail, the only difference being that the thing was not as soft as one. Instead his claws screeched over something as hard as stone, dulling his sharp nails edges to blunt ones.

InuYasha tried to growl as he slipped and blunted his claws on the arm – or whatever it was, but the only thing he managed to get out was a dry cough. A deep chuckle sounded before him, but when the half-were tried to see who it was his chin was suddenly forced upwards, effectively exposing his throat, and also denying him from seeing his foe. He kicked fruitlessly.

"Now, take it easy, InuYasha." The voice sounded rich and deep, a dark mirth hidden behind his every word. "We wouldn't want you to… _fall_, now would we? That would make quite a case; _'Dead boy found naked. The police suspects suicide due to heartbreak. '_A classic, isn't it?" The creature laughed again.

"B-bastard!" the boy gasped, now clinging to the arm for dear life – not an easy task on the slippery substance.

"Or," the creature continued thoughtfully as if he had never heard the insult, "do you change back into a dog in death? That would not be as… fun. Yes, fun. A sad event at most, but no one cares as much about a dog death than with a human. However, in your case a _humanoid_, which is far more interesting to the beings called _humans_. Whatever did your parents do to make you look so grotesque, InuYasha?"

The growl that sounded now did not come from Inuyasha, but whatever it was frightened the slimy creature. The boy felt the tentacle slitter away from his throat before he fell helplessly for a second. He thudded against the short wall, scrambled to find a handhold and then he hurried to throw himself over and into safety.

Panting heavily as he literally drank air, InuYasha wobbled to his feet and tried to locate the being that had attempted to take his life. Flashing spots assaulted his eyes and he blinked rapidly, trying to ease the interfering lights away.

He felt a clawed hand press down on his shoulder, urging him to sit down and lean against the low wall – and he was more than happy to oblige.

"Easy now. Put yer head between your legs and just try to breathe slow and steady, a'right?" Another baritone, but much lighter than the other, said to him. InuYasha nodded slowly and did as told.

When the spots disappeared and he could see again, he looked up only to get a cloth thrown in his face. "The he-?" he cussed as he clawed at the fabric, wondering if he was being choked again.

"Sorry." The voice didn't sound very sorry to him though. If anything, it sounded cocky and full of laughter. "Just that I don' real' fancy staring at some nude guy, ya know? I'm perfectly straight, and that's how I like it."

Snorting at that – hell, they were both male, were they not? – he secured the jacket around his waist before looking up into a pair of electric blue eyes. Dark eyebrows rose in glee at the sight of him and the male before him had equal dark and long hair, fastened up in a high ponytail. What caught InuYasha's eye were the male's ears, elfin ones that resembled his brother's.

The male didn't seem to be much older than himself, but as the boy smirked at him and sported a fang before extending his clawed hand, InuYasha knew he was old. Very, impossibly old, even to him who, according to his brother, was at least one hundred years old.

"Name's Kouga," the boy said. "Nice to meet ya, mutt."

InuYasha snorted before grabbing the extended hand. "InuYasha."

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><p><strong>Oh, jeez. I feel ashamed. I've recently read through my earlier chapters and noticed GIANT faults regarding the story – apparently, not everything goes together, and little is explained. I think I will change that, but only when this story is done! Then I can throw myself into this hell of a 93 pages and adddelete and repair everything. Huff.  
>Well, what do we have summerbreak for?<strong>

**-Please Review, so I can fix these damn things! A big help-**


	37. Boys Issues

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or its characters. Those are Rumiko Takahashis.**

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><p>"Woah. Well, that's a new one."<p>

Kouga stared at InuYasha, interest sparkling from the man's eyes as he sat crouched opposite from the half-were. InuYasha fidgeted under the scrutinizing gaze, suddenly feeling much more naked than when he had actually been nude before the boy.

Kouga reached forward and, to InuYasha's dismay, flicked the now curled tail resting on the half-were's back. He suppressed a growl at the action; after all, what kind of thanks would it be if he bit the hand that had saved him, although that very same hand belonged to the person who was looking at him like InuYasha was a scientific abnormality.

Smiling and sporting another flash of fang Kouga chuckled. "Don' ya worry, mutt; I ain't gonna do nothin' to you."

'_I damn well hope so,' _Inuyasha growled at him.

Kouga made a growl of his own. _'Not as if I wanna touch you, mutt.'_

InuYasha blinked and tilted his head, his ears slightly perked forward. It wasn't often he met another being that could understand him in this vulnerable form; heck, Sesshomaru had trouble understanding when InuYasha could only yip and bark at him – and they were practically the same species!

The boy before him grinned cockily as he scratched his elfin ears absentmindedly. "So, yeah. Not often meting a half of anything these days – you're the first in about… fifty years? Yeah, that's about right. Been around here long?"

InuYasha merely licked his nose. Was it really a good idea to tell this 'Kouga' anything at all? Heck, sure, he had saved him – but that didn't give much points in InuYasha's favor. Being hurt too often because of his half-blood, he wasn't going to take any chances.

"You're no fun!" Kouga exclaimed, rolled his eyes and made a pout. "Care to tell why you're a boy one minute an' a dog the next?"

InuYasha gave him a long look.

"Okay, right, sure. Whatever." Kouga sighed and threw his hands up in exasperation, then climbed to his feet. Stretching his body and popping his neck, Kouga glanced at InuYasha who stard right back at him warily. "What? It's not like I'm gonna eat ya, a'right? Dog makes ma' stomach sour."

The white dog growled at him, but Kouga only laughed. "Joking, joking. Chill, will ya?"

They stood quiet for a while; Kouga seeming thoughtful and distant, while InuYasha did what all dogs do when they grow tired of the situation – he started scratching his muzzle with one backpaw. Thinking back, were had this Kouga come from? InuYasha eyed the boy warily, momentarily stopping his scratching. Before, when the man with a snail-arm had grabbed him and attempted to drop him over the roof, Kouga had appeared out of nowhere and frightened the fiend off.

As he picked up with the scratching again, he couldn't help but think; what was it about this grinning and irritating boy – although not human – that could frighten off someone with an malicious aura such as that man?

Noticing Kouga's eyes upon him, he raised an invisible eyebrow.

Kouga laughed. "You know what? It's quite weird to see ya as a human, and then as a dog. But the most weird part is that you're behaving like one!" The boy leaned closer to the dog, eyes raised mischievously. "Ever felt the need to wag your tail when ya see a cute girl walk by? Or running after a nice-smelling bitch?"

InuYasha growled menacingly, which Kouga tock the wrong way seeing as he started laughing again, harder than before. "Still playing around with ya! Sorry, sorry." The dog frowned darkly, teeth still showing – making it quite clear that he didn't believe the boy before him one bit.

Giving another growl before he was satisfied, InuYasha turned tail and trotted up to the low wall. There he put his front paws on top of it and then resumed his careful watch over Kagome's apartment. Sighing in frustration – the sun was up and she _still _wasn't home! – he laid his head on the wall and whined softly. He could feel his stomach make nervous flip-flopping as if bouncing on a trampoline while having drunk ten cans of soda. Staring worriedly and somewhat angry, due to his worries, InuYasha had to admit it now.

He was quite a stalker.

-ooo-

"Thank you, Ayumi," Kagome mumbled in embarrassment. "And sorry for bawling so much; you must think I'm such a baby."

Ayumi shock her head with a smile and scrutinized Kagome with sympathy. "Not at all; I can relate. My ex was such an ass to me too. I was crying for weeks, not knowing what I had done wrong for him to behave as if I had suddenly thrown dung at him. Then I caught him cheating on me in broad daylight." Kagome must have had a shocked expression on her face, since Ayumi hurried to give another reassuring smile and a quick hug. "If he's not there today to apologize, then he's not worth you. You know that, right?"

'_Well, not like he's, or was, my boyfriend.'_ Hugging her friend back she said, "I know. Thank you, again, for letting me stay here tonight."

Ayumi pulled back first, shining a close-eyed smile at her depressed friend. "Anytime, Kagome."

Kagome smiled back, bowed and said goodbye. Then she hurried on her way home; to her apartment, to her room to her bed, to cry. Happy tears this time. She could already feel them assembling at her eyes corners, and quickened her pace. Soon she was half-jogging down the narrow street, passerby's giving her glares and raised eyebrows but otherwise not bothering the hurrying girl.

Minutes later Kagome was on a bus on her way home. Taking a seat in the far back, she scooted into one of the corners. There she picked up her feet from the floor, put her arms around her knees and leaned her head against them. Then she cried for the millionth time in four days.

-o-

Dabbing at her puffy eyes half an hour later Kagome jumped off the bus by her house. At the sight of the old building with lose bricks she felt the tears building up again. Apprehension fluttered in her stomach as she imagined walking up those stone steps, that she had walked over since she was five, opening the door and met her mother. This time her mom would known where she had been; Ayumi had taken it upon herself, seeing as Kagome couldn't speak due to hiccups and sobs, to tell her mother about the daughter's whereabouts. But Kagome was sure, had no doubt, that she would see the same worry, the questions that her mother had yet to ask, but never seemed able to voice out loud.

Kagome sighed deeply. What she wouldn't give for something to take her mind of things, for something to actually happen...

Reaching out to open the gate leading to the front door, Kagome suddenly found herself trapped. Two lean and rough hands were tightly gripping the hand she had extended. Startled she looked up, prepared to start fighting back; kicking, hitting and screaming would this figure show any signs of hostile towards her.

Electric blue eyes gazed intently into her night blue ones. "Kagome, right?" the boy gripping her hand asked.

"Y-yes?"

The dark haired boy grinned and snickered lightly. "Good, good. Well, up you go." Suddenly she found herself slung over one muscular shoulder, hoisted up by one tanned arm. Kagome let out a small shriek, but quieted and clung to him for dear life as he took off running. Fear rolled in her stomach as a hamster in a wheel, but soon it subsided for the force of the girl's crackling anger. How dared he kidnap her? And what was it with _males_ and their _kidnapping_ of young maidens?

"H-hey! What are you doing? Let me down!" Kagome pounced at him in much the same manner as she had done against the harpy only a few days ago. Quickly letting the memory go, she hissed at him angrily, "Are you seriously kidnapping me?"

He shot her a glance. "Not really, no. Borrowing, yes. Can't say that I complain though," he added, and grinned toothily at her flushed cheeks. She huffed angrily and turned her head, feeling the sudden and strong wind caressing her face nearly making her loose her breath.

The stinging of sudden tears at her eyes made her gasp and clung tighter to him. The blurriness around her could impossibly have anything to do with her crying her eyes out earlier, could it? No, impossible; having cried for almost a year over her little brother and then her grandfather she knew a lot about tears – this simply couldn't match up.

"Are you a supernatural being?" The moment the words left her mouth Kagome wanted to slap herself – preferably with the kind of thick newspaper her grandfather used to read. Of _course_ he was supernatural! Who could run at this speed, not breaking a sweat or panting heavily, while carrying a person on his shoulder, without being otherworldly? Scrutinizing him, she now noticed his pointed ears and the fang that playfully appeared under his lip as he grinned.

"Name's Kouga, and sure – I'm, as you say, 'supernatural'. Did my otherworldly handsomeness

She didn't return his smile. Kagome preferred to kick and hiss when being abducted. "Sure, Kouga – whatever. Let me down _now_!"

Kouga merely raised an eyebrow, but didn't lessen his speed. Kagome was sure she even heard him snort.

"What's so funny?" she demanded.

"Well," he laughed, "considerin' the speed we are goin' by now, me letting you down would end in quite a few bruises – maybe even a broken bone or two." Electric blue clashed with twilight blue. "Now, that would hurt, wouldn't it?"

Kagome didn't care to answer that question. "Care to tell _why_ I'm suddenly a sack of potatoes then, jerk?"

"Ouch," the boy said, feigning hurt as he turned a pouted lip at her. Kagome imagined dragging out that lip with a fork and then letting it sizzle in a fry pan for a few minutes. "You'll see," he concluded with a mysterious rising of his eyebrows. Kagome frowned darkly, imagining running a grass clipper over his face.

-oo-

Sesshomaru wasn't really surprised to not find his half-brother at home when the full-blooded werewolf woke up. The Sesshomaru never let himself reduce to the simple matter of being "surprised". That was a ningen term; wolfs of his kind never even _let_ themselves be found in the same meaning. Having accurate senses, you simply wasn't made to be taken by surprise.

Yawning delicately, with a hand hiding his fangs and curling tongue, he padded into the chaotic living room. Silently gazing at the lack of femininity he had somehow become accustomed to, he narrowed his eyes. Dropping into the old armchair, he leant back and closed his eyes. Then he took a deep breath, held it for as long as he could and then let it all out in one deep exhale, letting his tenseness and worry leak out of him in that outtake.

This was good. Being alone, in his own heaven, without anyone to share it with – that was good. His brother had spent half his life trying to run away from Sesshomaru, although the werewolf wasn't entirely sure why that was. Perhaps his interference with the boy's memory had triggered something account to fear. On the other hand, perhaps Sesshomaru's werewolf-training sessions weren't all that kind to the Halfling.

Rolling his shoulders he sat up slowly, still with his eyes closed. Turning his head slightly he opened his eyes lazily to half open golden slits. "Why have you come?"

From the shadows of the hall a titter floated into the lounge. It could have been a pleasing feminine sound, had it not been laced with a deep bitterness and sarcastic edge. "Hoping I would leave you alone, Sesshomaru?"

Feeling a headache coming, Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes, making the already small slits of gold even smaller. "What is the cause of you being here, Kagura?"

The woman, Kagura, stepped into the room, a cruel smile hidden behind a delicate fan. Sesshomaru wrinkled his brow at the pretty woman; feeling the stench of decay radiating from the attractive woman could bring any being with a higher sense of smell to his knees in disgust. The traditional kimono's complicated patterns did nothing to soften her appearance.

"Do I need a reason to visit you now, Sesshomaru-sama?" she purred, snapped the fan shut and revealed tantalizing red lips. "I didn't have to before."

He growled, but had yet to leave the armchair. "State your business, or I will show you just how I feel about your appearance in my home."

Kagura laughed, the sound reminding him of thick oil dripping and sliding only to land flat. "Is this how low you've stepped, Sesshomaru-sama? To live like a ningen, with your half-brother _mutt_-"

Cutting of whatever the woman was about to tell, Sesshomaru pinned Kagura to the wall, one clawed hand planted firmly around her swanlike throat. He snarled menacingly, eyes bleeding red – the sight was enough to send a grown man into a fit of fright. Yet Kagura merely smiled teasingly up at him, her own red eyes hazy with mirth.

"You will not speak of my brother with that filthy mouth of yours," he snapped, baring his sharp teeth at her.

"Only filthy for you," she retorted.

He growled again, but let her go after a ´no-nonsense-shove' against the wall. Sesshomaru was across the room in a flash, as far away from her as he could. "Your business?" he murmured dangerously.

Kagura straightened her kimono absently, watching him with a superior look that made his werewolf blood boil with rage. "Know that your brother and his human are not safe from him," she murmured, voice suddenly serious.

Sesshomaru huffed. "That is not something you need to tell me."

Kagura shrugged, a wan smile grazing her lips. "Sesshomaru-sama sure can care for him and his pack, for he knows everything of importance. But you can't protect them – not from him."

The werewolf snarled, showing teeth. "Are you questioning my abilities, daughter of Füjin?"

The woman made an exasperated sound, though her eyes betrayed her merriment over the situation. "Going as far as using my heritage against me, Sesshomaru-sama? That is not very honorable of you."

Sesshomaru whirled, slashing at the woman, but she had already flown out of the hall and out into the fading daylight. Only the tittering laughter trailed behind.

"You can't protect them, Sesshomaru-sama."

-oo-

Her stomach hurt, her arms hurt, her head hurt and she was fairly sure her rear had fallen asleep, due to being the highest point of her body for the moment. Kagome also knew that when this Kouga finally would let her down, she wouldn't be able to stand due to heavy limbs and a spinning head.

Bracing herself against his torso and shoulder she had attempted to steady herself, but found it quite tiring after two minutes. Thus the cause of her current state.

Blushing was bad in itself; making your skin grow scalding hot that you got the impression of being in an oven in mid-august, in a desert. Probably Africa. In the middle of the day. But then, being carried bride-style, was enough cause to feel embarrassed and get the impression of having grown an extra head.

"I appreciate the thought," she muttered, cheeks colored dark red, "but I would appreciate it more if you would let me down. Preferably at home."

Kouga looked down at her, eyes sparkling, as they seemed to laugh at her silently. _'Jerk.'_

"But then the surprise would be ruined." Pouting lip and puppy eyes – ah, jeez. Which bastard had learned these supernaturals to look so damn cute and vulnerable? She gritted her teeth, and looked down at her closed hands near her chest, trying not to think of Kouga's hand supporting her weight at her thighs. Only one other man had ever carried her like this, one hand at her back, the other at her thighs… and he had thrown her away, with the excuse of _protecting her_. She frowned. At least, the note that _Sesshomaru_ had written had said so. But was that really how InuYasha felt?

"Hey, if ya don' stop your face will stay like that," Kouga murmured, suddenly sounding very much too close to her liking. Looking up startled, she recoiled slightly at how close he was, even though he was still running. He frowned down at her, neck craned so he could stare at her more closely, but as she stared back up at him, she saw the corner of his mouth twitch in amusement.

"No need to make such an expression," Kouga murmured kindly. At her nonpussled expression, he winked and looked ahead of them. Soon she felt their speed dropping, until Kouga was only half-jogging – human-style.

Following his gaze she saw that they had left the city and small valleys behind them, only some cottages and farms spread out around them – far between and impossible to get help from. Ahead of them were a collection of young trees; willows and cedars stood side by side, almost as if they were soldiers standing guard over something within them.

Kagome said nothing, only stared stupefied as Kouga brushed away groping branches tickling leaves, thus protecting them from irritating caresses from nature, but also allowing them entrance through the patronizing trees. The boy walked through, still holding her bridal style.

Staring in awe, Kagome gasped softly at the picture before her, the dying sun filtering through the greenery created a beautiful coloring of red and emerald, glistening of the grass in the glade that the young trees had been watching over. Kouga walked to the middle of it, and only then did he let Kagome stand.

Wobbling at first – heck, her legs had fallen asleep – she stood and drank in the scenery for a moment, before whirling around and letting a resounding slap echo throughout the glade.

Kouga stood shocked, face still turned before he chanced a glance at the girl. She was fuming, although awe was still clear in her eyes. Red cheeked and dangerously sparkling eyes accompanied by the irate stomping of her left foot.

"W-what did you do that for?" he stuttered, slowly touching his burning cheek.

She frowned darkly at him, and Kouga was a hair's breadth from taking a step back. "Why? Well, mister, this is why; more than a week ago I was kidnapped, in the same manner as today-"

"I told you, I didn't-"

Kagome growled warningly. "-and my mother was beyond herself with worry. It has taken _three days_ to get her to let me go to school! Now you-"she pointed a trembling finger at him, "-dare to kidnap me again! For what? To let me sniff the flowers of Mother Nature? How dare you? Such a low reason, I ought to-!"

Kouga scuffed backwards, holding his hands up in defense. "If you would just let me-"

"Oh, no, you little weasel! I won't let you do anything! While those who kidnapped me the last time were kind enough to me, how would I know that you are the same?" She advanced on him, each step ending in a heavy stomp. "How would I know that you aren't just here to rape me, kill me, or Kami knows what! You supernaturals are maybe still selling people off as slaves?"

Now it was Kouga's turn to frown. "Now, that was a bit too-"

"See if I care!" Kagome snarled, very impressive for being human. Then she quieted down, gritting her jaws together as her lips thinned to a ghastly bleached color. The only sound in the glade was that of her angry breathing, and – though she didn't know – the beating of her scared heart. Deep inside of her Kagome wondered if she had gone too far. Sure, this Kouga seemed like a kind – if not a little crazed – person, but that's what everyone said about someone who had ended up killing his entire family too. People said they couldn't understand why – he had always been so kind.

Fists tightly clenched at her sides, she gave a final stomp. "Take me home," she ground out.

Kouga's brilliant blue eyes scrutinized hers for a moment, before heaving a loud sigh. "Calm down, girl. If you could only wait for a few more-"

"No!" she yelled, quite embarrassed at the loud shriek. "I'm not going to stay around just so you can chop me up, sell me as a slave or just outright leave me in the middle of nowhere!" Never had she lost her temper quite like this before – not even when little brother Souta had taken her dolls and played bonfire. Then again, this blockhead just couldn't take no for an answer! _'What's with him?'_

She lunged for him, begging for that pink light to come to her aid once more. Hurling a clumsy punch, which he easily sidestepped, she ground her teeth when no such light came. Fine then – getting up on her tiptoes she decided to make this the hard way.

Lunging forward and seeing Kouga do the inevitable – sidestepping – she whirled around and dashed for the exit. Kagome heard him shout after her, but she didn't dare to glance back; she had experienced just how fast he was, so she would need all her luck and power to outrun him. Besides, what with the fading light and her already clumsy self, she needed all the light she could get while attempting to run in a forest.

Stumbling over a stone, and hissing over the pain that followed her sore toe, Kagome managed to stay on her feet. She reached out with her hands in front of her, felt the leaves and twigs brush over her skin – before she suddenly was whisked back by strong arms.

Futile as it was, Kagome kicked and swore, hissed and clawed. She would not let this beast in the shape of a man do anything to her! Before he could even attempt to she would have-

"Kagome! Dammit, calm down!" The growl, so familiar that she felt like breaking down crying, yet so forlorn that she didn't know how to fathom her reactions to it, resounded behind her.

Whipping her head around she took in the long silver hair, the twitching and slightly layback puppy ears, 'til her twilight blue eyes met his brilliant golden gaze that stared back at her.

For a moment, no one moved; not even Kouga, though he crossed his arms and put on a satisfied smirk. Kagome didn't dare to move or to blink – what if this was yet another daydream and he wasn't really there? What if, when she closed her eyes and opened them again, he would be gone? Having walked away from her like in all those dreams?

Then the inevitable came; her eyes started to itch, and before she could stop herself she felt her eyelids flutter shut. Horrified at what she had done Kagome didn't open her eyes. Her heart started beating faster, in both fear and anticipation. Slowly she let her eyelids draw back. Then she blinked just to be safe.

Golden orbs looked back at her.

Another moment passed.

Then she opened her mouth.

"You stupid idiot!"

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><p>Hah~ - loud exhale.<p>

So. I have a cold right now. Head feels all fluffy and throat hurts. So, yeah. Nothing too explaining this time.

Kagura though; Füjin is a Japanese wind God. So there you have it. Ain't I clever?

Please review!


	38. Trust

**Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha; not the story or the characters. All credit of those goes to Rumiko Takahashi.**

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><p>"Ow, ow, ow, ow, <em>ow<em>! Dammit Kagome; not the ears!"

InuYasha yipped and yapped, growled and pleaded, but a furious Kagome was a ruthless Kagome – right now going for his Achilles heel in her fury. Holding onto one of his fluffy puppy ears with all her might, she voiced a very impressive growl of her own at him, and then made another quick yank, earning another high yelp and a line of cussing.

Kouga himself had seated himself in the grass, legs crossed and watching the other two with amusement. He made no move to help the whelp, even though he winced now and then.

"You _left_ me!" Kagome shrieked, yanking InuYasha's ear downwards she almost succeeded in making the half-were acquainted to the dirt. When Kagome didn't however, she huffed angrily and instead yanked the boy's head up to eye level. Staring into his pained and angry corn orbs, she snarled, revealing blunt teeth. "For what? To _protect me_? You _can't_ do that by pushing me away, you thickheaded twerp!"

Kagome yanked again, this time determined to see the dog-boy in the dirt. She wanted to see him crawl for her, to hear him apologize his eyes out for leaving her. Yet she was so happy to see him that it took all her willpower to not start bawling right there. Grinding her teeth together when InuYasha refused to fall again, she took another much harder jerk, but was not prepared as the boy propelled at her instead. With a yelp from her and a huff from him, the two of them went down, a tangle of limbs in a heap.

Kagome groaned as she felt a light ache in her chest where InuYasha's head had hit her. _'Thickheaded…' _She almost started to laugh, but found that such an action would hurt even worse. Instead, she focused on breathing as the weight of InuYasha pushed her down into the grass, that surprisingly hadn't gotten trampled away from their 'Tag Of Ear'. _'Wasn't it supposed to be _him_ that went down?'_ she mocked herself. With a snort, she placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed briskly, feeling like a mouse in a rattrap when he laid frozen in place on her.

"Get up, idiot. Not on the first date," she said, tone ice cold. However, inside she could feel a slight tingle growing in her stomach, which caused her cheeks to catch fire. _'Not on the first date? Smooth, Kagome, smooth.'_

The sentence had the sought reaction at least. InuYasha jerked his head up, his face so close to hers that their breaths were mingling together, ghosting across each other's faces. Golden eyes widened and a distinct pink started to form on his cheeks before he jumped off her.

"Whoa, InuYasha," they heard Kouga call. Both of them turned to see the grinning boy raise an eyebrow at InuYasha. "I _knew_ there was a little perverted dog inside of you."

That made InuYasha frown and bare his teeth, but the contrast of his darkly reddened cheeks took of the wanted effect somewhat. Kouga held up his hands in mock-surrender, but nothing in the world could apparently wipe the smirk from his features. Kagome had to hold back the bubbling laughter that the sight called out to her. How could someone who looked so tough and urbane get this reaction from her?

InuYasha huffed angrily, cheeks still tinged with cherry red. Then he looked down at Kagome, who stared at Kouga with a grin stretched in her face. When she turned her gaze to InuYasha however, that smile faltered to something colder. Something hurt. Quickly he looked away from her, which somehow hurt even more.

"S-sorry," he blurted sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. "For before… I didn't mean to do that." Surprised Kagome looked up at him from where she was still sitting on the ground. Was he really apologizing about leaving her?

She opened her mouth, fully intent on forgiving him, when he opened that blasted mouth of his again. "But it was technically your fault for dragging my ear like that! Damn, wench, that _hurt_ by the way!"

Feeling multiply veins start throbbing at her forehead, Kagome attempted to take several deep breaths to cool her once again flaring temper. _'Murder is bad, murder is bad…'_

"Okay kids, that's enough!" Kouga blared laughingly, seemingly enjoying hers and InuYasha's fighting. "However fun this little bickering of yours is, although, InuYasha, I must say ya are _very_ stupid to apologize for the wrong thing."

"Hey!"

"But," Kouga continued, not batting an eye at the half-were's angry expression, "I don't remember fetching her for ya to just fight, or am I wrong?" Kouga lifted a meaning eyebrow, before lifting himself of the ground. Dusting off his bottom and legs, he did a little aloof wave. "Smell ya later, mutt!"

"Keh! 's I who are gonna smell you first, mangy wolf!" InuYasha muttered under his breath.

They watched him stroll away before taking to a sprint. Soon he crouched to all four, still in a run, before he started to make a strange coughing noise. Kagome gasped and, forgetting their earlier dispute, grabbed InuYasha's hand.

"What's-?" She whispered, but quieted when there was a faint _poff_. Running away from them was now a large canine, large as a horse. Its dark fur didn't even reflect the oncoming stars overhead. With a loud and guttural bark, the creature jumped into the boscage and disappeared, not leaving either branch or leaves scathed and not a rustle that could relieve its presence.

Kagome stayed quiet, not saying anything for a minute. Then she whirled at InuYasha and grabbed his collar. "What the heck just happened?"

InuYasha stared down at the small human, before grabbing her hands and batting them away from him. "That's not really my place to tell, is it?"

"But-"

"No! Let Kouga explain whatever questions you may have about him! I won't take that opportunity away from him." He looked away from her with a grim expression on his features. Kagome narrowed her eyes in confusion over this sudden fierceness, but then when she thought his words over it made sense. Tenderly grasping his shoulder, she squeezed. When he finally looked at her she smiled softly.

"I'm sorry."

Suspicion and surprise battled in his molten eyes. "What for?"

"For taking that opportunity away from you," she said and looked at her hand on his shoulder. She didn't dare gaze into his eyes any longer as shame washed over her. "For getting Sesshomaru to tell me all that stuff while you were left in the dark. I had no right to know those things, while you had it; you didn't know about your life _before_, only what you have now. For pressing him, and you hearing about it in such a way, I'm sorry." Before her mouth could gallop away with her again, Kagome bit her bottom lip before slowly raising her gaze to his.

Stunned honey orbs stared at her, his mouth formed in a little 'o'. Then he seemed to recover as he took on a gruff and sour expression and looked away from her. Kagome had to hold back a smug smirk at the sight of his slightly lowered ears and the telltale pink coloring on his cheeks.

"Keh, whatever. I did find out eventually, didn't I?" The tooth-peeking smirk that she was so accustomed to appeared on his face, alongside a playful glint in his eyes, although he still had a shade of red on his face.

She didn't say anything; only smiled gently up at him. It was like before again, that relaxed feeling only good friends could have between each other. Funny; Kagome didn't get that feeling around Eri, Ayumi or Yuki and she had known them since preschool. How many days had she known InuYasha then, compared to the thirteen years she had been together with the three girls?

Dazed at the insane amount of time she had started to completely trust this non-human creature, she smiled more brightly up at him. It may be so that he irritated her to no end, and it may be so that he had hurt her time after time again. And, yeah, she admitted it to herself; he had almost killed her sometimes. But he still cared for her, and that was all she needed.

"So," InuYasha coughed awkwardly, once more scratching the back of his head, "I guess you would want to know a few things then?"

She blinked. "Why?"

He stared dumbfounded at her, before a tired look nestled into his eyes and an eyebrow rose wistfully.

"What do you mean 'why'?" He asked after a short silence.

"Just that; why have you brought me here? Why were you with that Kouga?" She sniffed, and then scrunched her nose. "And _why_ on earth do you smell like a heap of horse dung?"

"You don't want to know," he muttered. She raised an eyebrow of her own that begged to differ. "It's a dog instinct, a'right? Sometimes being a dog sucks more badly than normal."

"Got it," she mumbled as she tried hard not to laugh at the weird picture of the boy before her rolling in muck.

"As to the other ones… damn. I need to explain this quite thoroughly, don't I?"

"Yes, you do," she said, felling her hackles rising with dread. Somehow, she imagined that his answers wouldn't be all that pleasant.

-ooo-

InuYasha sighed heavily, and leaned against his crossed legs as he tiredly rubbed a thumping temple. "Yes, I was buttnaked, but that's beside the point."

He could see how hard it was for Kagome not to laugh at him, and really – he couldn't blame her. Still, he had hoped for some sort of worry or at least anger to lash out at him, not the waterfall of giggles that had slipped from her tightly sealed lips. Oh, he had seen the laughter begging to be let out, and how she tried to hold it back. He appreciated the thought, but it stung even worse when he heard it.

"Hah- oh God, sorry-"Kagome giggled, holding her hands over her mouth.

"What are you sorry to him for? It's _me_ you're laughing at," he muttered sourly. He scoffed as he realized she couldn't compose herself much more. "The point is that this is the only safe place from that… snail-man, or whatever he was. It's kinda holy; only those with pure intentions can come in."

That shut her up, although a tiny smile flickered at the corner of her mouth. "How is this place holy?" she asked and motioned to the glistening grass and silent trees that surrounded them. "Sure, it's quite nice and all, but looks like any other greenery to me."

"… don't question everything."

"Wow. You really sounded like Sesshomaru there," she giggled again.

"I'm nothing alike that jerk! Now _focus_, Kagome!"

"Sure, sorry. Almost five days without a good laugh is way too long," she murmured. InuYasha flinched at her words, but she didn't seem to notice. Maybe she did, but chose to not mention it. The boy was glad she didn't; otherwise this conversation would surely turn into a shouting-match.

"Keh. Either way, this sacred area equals to no evil beings that can come in, see in or hear anything within this circle. Completely safe from that jackass snail, at least."

"Got it; safe green haven." The girl nodded slowly. "And Kouga...?"

"-Is a safe guy who saved me. Kinda. Easily frightened dude, that snail." InuYasha huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

Kagome nodded, before biting her lip tentatively. It was an expression that InuYasha had seen, but never had wanted to see upon her face again. Fear and nervousness, against him. He had seen it just before she had struck him with a ladle, that day they first met.

"What?" he asked gruffly, and hoped to any God that he didn't seem vulnerable to what she would say.

She glanced up at him and then hurriedly looked down again and thus effectively hiding her eyes behind her raven bangs. The girl watched her fingers dance and entwine with each other in her lap, her nervousness causing the small limbs to pick up speed. "Well…" she mumbled as she watched her hands. He did the same when he couldn't see her expression. The half-were could still smell her emotions – fear, nervousness and anger, with a pinch of sadness – but it didn't mean he could determine what to expect from her next. Suddenly he had to lean back as she suddenly was up in his face, her large blue eyes glaring into his own. He gulped, hard, at the HD adaption of her eyes.

"Why the hell did you leave me like that? With just a _note_, written by Lord Sour Bottom?" she demanded.

InuYasha didn't say anything. Rather, he couldn't. With her glaring at him so angrily and so close, while hearing her use that same angry tone to say that ridiculous phrase - _'Lord Sour Bottom?'_ – it was hard to not let go and hurl himself down the canal of giddiness that she herself had been down just a minute ago. Taking several deep breaths, he managed to hold it in.

"I woke up three nights ago – had been out of it, so I didn't exactly 'leave you' to anything," InuYasha replied. As she narrowed her eyes at him, he guessed he didn't do as well with smiling as with laughing. "That's _Lord Sour Bottom's _–"he smiled brightly, unable to stop himself "-way of protecting people, I guess. Hard to remember something you have no memory of."

Kagome turned red as he said that, and InuYasha instantly cursed himself. Hurrying on he said, "I would have told you if I could – but, you see, being unconscious and then getting strict orders from that Lord of Pompousness to not see you because of that harpy makes it kinda hard to do." He pushed her gently back until she sat back down on the grass. "Have you seen him fight? Man, he's a beast – and not only his were-side. Don't really want to have him on my bad side."

"Wait a minute." Kagome held up a finger and stared at him with narrowed eyes. "How come you don't remember that vampire Myoga-"

"Who?"

"-but said his name in your sleep when you stayed at my house?" She stared at him sternly as she slowly placed her arms over her chest in a strict 'no-nonsense' pose. "And who is this uncle of yours that you stayed with until…" The girl put a finger to her lips in thought,"thirteen? Fourteen?"

InuYasha bit his lip. Myoga? Damn, he couldn't even remember how that old man looked! And how did this conversation turn into the meaning of old chats? "I don't remember him. Maybe my subconscious from when I _did_ have a memory remembered him, ya know?" At her blank stare he huffed. "It's hard to explain, a'right? And how did you know I said that? Are you watching me when I sleep, crazy wench?"

He smirked slyly as her face turned ten grades rosier. "I w-was not! You were making a ruckus – I was worried for you, idiot!"

"Whatever you say, stalker." InuYasha sing-sang. A delicate hand implanted itself on his nose, which caused him to stir and stare at her. "What did you do that for?"

"Focus, InuYasha!" Kagome imitated his voice from earlier. He snarled, but nonetheless obeyed.

The half-were snorted. "Stayed with a monk."

"A _monk_?" Kagome asked with her mouth agape.

InuYasha held back another smug grin. "Not what you expected, eh?" She shook her head no, but didn't say anything. He took it as a sign to keep talking. "Not blood related, but the old man was kind. I stayed 'til I was fourteen 'cause I could take care of myself. And because another boy came that needed the monk's help more."

"Oh…" She looked abashed suddenly, another look that didn't really suit her. "So, you what? Lived all alone on the streets until now?"

"… not really." At her wondering gaze he added," Sesshomaru came occasionally and chased me around the block. If he wanted to kill me or train me…" He trailed off and shrugged. "Otherwise; yeah, I lived on the street. Learned to fight there too."

At that, she huffed and gave him a sour look. "Sesshomaru should still have let you get a home and properly taken care of you."

He snorted loudly. "I don't need any help from that jerk; I can take care of myself!"

"Says he who was unconscious for three days," she pointed out.

"Keh!"

InuYasha saw her smile again, and couldn't resist to let a small smile paint itself on his own face as he let his thoughts wander about. It was now four years since he had left that kind monk and had started to wander around the city; he could still see the aloof look in the stout man's face as the monk told him about the other boy that had been found earlier that day, underweight and badly beaten. Knowing that the temple didn't have place for more people he had offered to move out.

'_Are you sure, boy?' _the monk had asked, his voice raspy from some booze he had probably been drinking. _'Do you have someone that can take care of you? Someone that you trust?'_

He hadn't, but had still offered to leave. And although the monk let him go, InuYasha knew that the old man knew that the young InuYasha had lied.

He looked over at Kagome who was humming to herself as she gazed up at the dark sky. Had InuYasha been human he would have missed the sparkle her eyes had gotten back into them, compared to only a few nights ago.

'_Do you have someone you trust?'_

Suddenly the girl's eyes widened comically before she jumped up and grabbed his hands to drag him up as well. "Oh my God! What time is it? God Gracious, mom's going to _kill me_! And then probably kill me again in my next life!"

He stumbled, grasped her much smaller ankles in his hands. "God _Gracious_?"

She bared her teeth at him, but it was more an act of hurry than out of anger. "Oh, hush! I start talking funny when stressed! You should have seen mom when I came home after being gone for almost a week; she trailed after me like a bloodhound after a bone!"

InuYasha flinched, but Kagome didn't notice. Taking a deep breath, he turned his back to her and crouched down. Glancing over his shoulder at the girl who stared back at him with a curious look, he pointed with his thumb to his back. "Hop on."

She blinked. "Excuse me?"

He sighed and gave her a blank look. "You're in a hurry, right?" At her nod, he motioned to his back again. "Then jump on; this is much faster than if I would carry you all the way."

"Are you sure about this?" she asked, although she already had her hands on his shoulders. "I am heavy, you know."

He huffed. "I have carried you before, so trust me when I say this – you're not _that_ heavy."

"Easy for you to say," she muttered as she snaked her arms around his neck," half-were with non-human strength and speed."

InuYasha snorted and placed his hands under her thighs before he lifted her. Kagome's response was to yelp and hug him tighter, arms and thighs holding him in a vice grip as she buried her face in his hair, which caused him to stumble – both in lack of oxygen and from the strange sensation of having a human koala on him. He straightened up and stood still for a minute, waiting for her to adjust and release her death grip. When no such thing happened, InuYasha heaved her higher up on his back.

"Hey, Kagome! Stop strangling me, or I won't be able to take you home at all!" he exclaimed hoarsely. Heaving her higher up had only made her arms snake tighter around his throat.

His voice had the wanted effect. With an abashed 'sorry' she loosened her grip slightly, but her legs still refused to lean on his hands.

"Hey, wench." The soft tone that he only used on special occasions made her look up into one of his golden eyes, which was gazing at her over his shoulder. "Do you trust me?"

Kagome's dark blue eyes blinked at him, before a soft expression came over her features. She smiled. "I trust you, InuYasha." Then she relaxed against his back and let him hold most of her weight.

Ducking his head, he walked through the guarding trees, dodged low hanging branches and tricky roots. Coming out of the dung he speed up and soon he was mixing between running and jumping.

'_Do you have someone you trust?'_

InuYasha smiled toothily as he felt his cheeks and heart warm up.

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><p><strong>Yay, people! Good news!<strong>

**My cold is over, and I took the first swim in the lake of this year! Felt great! - - although, too cold for me. Kindergarten here is hectic - or not really; chickens don't do much else than running around being stupid, and kittens only lie in their box, growing fatter for each passing minute. But the kittens... so 'gosigt', as we say in Sweden - means something like 'cuddly' in English. There, I learned you something new!**

**Need to do homework... but too lazy... and since it's almost one in the morning, I'm saying godnight to you folks. I will dream that I learn how to do a good non-vocabular interaction between people in word form. Maybe dreams can learn me something?**

**And!**

**Please, do review!**


	39. Feathers of a Hummingbird

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha characters. This story _Stray Dog_ is mine however. Paws off!**

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><p>She hadn't slept so good in a long time. Not even before her family was still alive had she felt so completely at ease with herself. Moreover, she had never felt that she had had a good night's rest, and then waking up four in the morning. Then again, perhaps the half-were sleeping on the floor by her bed had something to do with it.<p>

Kagome smiled as she looked down at him, watching his ears twitch in his sleep. Being the gentleman he apparently declared he was, he had accepted a blanket and a pillow, but had made it clear that he wouldn't attempt to climb into bed with her. She didn't really believe him, but knew that if he did she wouldn't have minded. Being kidnapped twice in less than two weeks can set a girl's opinions on the line.

Hesitating, but giving in, she let one of her hands lower to just above his head. She froze as she heard him grumble, but eased when he began to breathe slowly again. Biting her lip, she began to smooth out his silver strands, cautiously continuing to stroke the hair, even though she felt him tense under her hand. After a moment, he relaxed again and a soft sigh escaped him.

His hair was surprisingly silky, although a little rough. A little jealous of that fact she tugged a little at his ear, which caused a slight whimper to fall from the boy. Feeling bad, she scratched the abused ear. Even his ears had long locks of hair, feather soft and addictive to touch. When had InuYasha really cut his hair?

She continued to stroke his head, giddily watching his puppy ears swivel and twitch.

-ooo-

Sesshomaru couldn't sleep. Or, well, he could if he wanted to – which he of course didn't for the moment. He sat there in his armchair, head on the backrest and stared up at the ceiling. Counting brown splotches.

He took a deep breath, almost imagining he could scent what it was that had left those imprints on the ceiling. Instead, he took in the scent of decay and cherry blossoms, causing a frown to grow on his spotless forehead. That woman – always leaving teasing traces behind to upset his senses, and make him slightly sick to his stomach.

She was also the very cause of his non-want of sleep. Kagura was not someone to take lightly – when she appeared there was bound to be problems ahead. Moreover, what she had informed him of this time actually worried him some. Thus his lack of sleep – which he didn't need right now – was instead used for thinking.

If that man actually was back, after such a long time, then he was undoubtedly after Sesshomaru and his kin, since they were the last of such a great people. That man had always wanted to be on the top himself, but with the were-family already there, it had been impossible. If that man was going after InuYasha, then it also meant going after the peculiar human girl.

Baring his teeth at the thought, he slowly sat upright, cradling his head in one palm. If that man succeeded in finding out the girl's importance and whereabouts, there were no doubt he would try to kill her. If he prospered, there was no telling how InuYasha would react – if his mixed blood would do something if his were-instincts flared to life. Sesshomaru was sure something like that could happen, thinking about a werewolf's strong pack feelings.

Sesshomaru only hoped no such thing would occur. And when Sesshomaru only could hope, it was bound to be bad.

-ooo-

He had been awake for a while, scarcely aware of the hand petting his head. Not daring to really move away from it, nor wanting to. Instead he focused on keeping his breathing deep and even, eyes half-closed.

It was a long time since anyone had caressed him in any way. He barely remembered his mom, whose face he couldn't remember, stroking his hair and doing small braids in it. The last one to ruffle his hair had been the monk.

InuYasaha didn't need any of his senses to know who it was. Kagome was the only one who would jerk his ear and then caress it afterwards, as an silent apology. He wasn't sure why she had done it though; was she still angry that he hadn't talked to her the last few days?

Breathing slowly, he focused on her caresses and soft sighs. Apparently, she was enjoying herself. Letting out a sigh of his own, he admitted to himself that he too was feeling content and, strangely, safe.

Then he smirked smugly.

Feigning a big yawn, curling his tongue, he rolled over onto his back. Kagome must have been surprised by the motion, if the sharp intake of air was any indication. Fighting a smile, he muttered gibberish under his breath before feigning deep sleep once more. A low giggle, then his tresses moved across his brow as she began twiddling with his hair again. Fingertips brushed over his forehead, causing him to blush slightly.

Opening his eyes fully, he gazed at her, wild raven hair spilling around her head from where it rested at the edge of the bed. She hadn't noticed he was awake yet, seemingly mesmerized with his locks. What women saw in hair, he would never know.

Then she glanced at his face, and he almost laughed out loud at the shocked expression before red bleed over her cheeks.

"You were awake?" she asked lowly, cheeks bright red.

He answered by grinning wider. "Why did you drag my ear? That hurts, you know?"

The red changed into a furious crimson. "You have too nice hair," she muttered under her breath, hoping he wouldn't catch up on it.

"I don't really know if that's a compliment, but thank you." Now the blushing passed over all her face, but really, it was her fault for not trusting his good hearing.

"Won't Sesshomaru wonder where you are?" she asked, clearly trying to change the subject.

He arched an eyebrow at her.

She fidgeted. "Just asking – he is kinda your guardian right now, even if he's an asshole."

He put a hand under his head, arching an eyebrow at her in the process. "I can't imagine him as a guardian – the ass-issue I've got no problem with."

The girl snorted and disappeared from view, lying down on her back. "Do you think he will be mad that you were with me then? He did write neither of you would contact me again."

"Sesshomaru is always mad about something; he's just damn good at hiding it." InuYasha answered, a real yawn fighting to be let loose from his throat. "I did tell him I would watch over you at least, but not approach you."

A small titter. "Well, seems like that worked out well."

"Very."

They both fell silent, listening to the sounds of night outside and the occasional snoring coming from Kagome's mother's room. When he thought about it…

"What does your mom say about the dog?"

"Huh?" Rustling as she turned back to look at him. "Dog?"

InuYasha huffed and nearly coughed as he swallowed his laughter. "Me, remember? I certainly do; cellar, lured, picked up by your mama, ladle… ringing any bell?"

Kagome gasped, and he could again see her cheeks redden. "Thank God, no! That she says something I mean, not that I don't remember that embarrassing morning." Thanks to the ascending daylight coming from the window, he could see her prop her chin in her palm. "Seems that in the midst of me disappearing, she forgot I ever got a dog. You are just that forgettable."

"The hell?" he growled.

She laughed softly, her red cheeks this time due to mirth. "Kidding, kidding."

He huffed, but couldn't help to feel a little hurt by that. Was he really that easy to forget? If he would, and had as Sesshomaru said, live in several hundred years more, would Kagome also forget him in the end? A cold feeling entered his stomach, making him feel a little sick. Would Sesshomaru be the only one to remember InuYasha as who he was? Scary thought…

-ooo-

Imagine the surprise Miss Higurashi felt when opening her door six o'clock in the morning. Then imagine the bulging of her eyes when she stared at the person who stood on the other side of the door. When hearing the business the person had in her home, she would frown and start to say something in retort, but the visitor merely held out a hand towards her face, whereas her eyes would roll back in her head. Imagine that the woman, the mother of Kagome, would fall into a heap like a sack of potatoes.

Then imagine the person lower its hand stiffly, before turning and walking away from the house, down the street and out of view. Without anyone seeing or hearing anything that had occurred.

-ooo-

InuYasha had returned to his dog-form, sleeping soundly – and rather loudly – under the blanket. Kinda cute really, if she didn't count the amount of drool that trickled down onto the floor.

Kagome wrinkled her nose, but smirked nonetheless. If only she had a camera, she would take a picture to show him later…

Taking her opportunity to get clothed without the half-were ogling her, she slid out of bed – careful not to step on the dog – and opened the closet, choosing some clothes on random. Hesitating as she glanced over her shoulder on the dog, she shrugged and walked out of the room. He needed his sleep either way – and this time he _did_ have clothes with him, not down in the cellar. If he were hungry, he could always sniff her out.

She closed the door gently behind her, careful to not close it wholly. Then she bounced down the stairs.

"Morning, Mama!" she cheered as she entered the kitchen, but stopped as she saw no one there. Sighing heavily she glared at the table, which was still packed with breakfast utensils; cornflakes, milk, bread, butter and so on. Not feeling the slightest surprised she set about making something edible out of the dry bread and melting butter. People said Kagome was thoughtless – _'Well, look at my mother then!'_

Still grumbling she bit into the dry bread, turning on her heel and walking back into the hall. Her mom would hear a few words when she got home after yet another appointment. Apparently, weekends were not the time for a break for her mom or for her colleagues.

Still chewing, she shivered, encircling one arm around her waist and silently cursing her choice of wearing short cutoffs. Absentmindedly she wondered if her mother had forgotten to close the door too. It wouldn't be the first time, seeing as her mother always rushed around, mumbling about things to do, people to call and yadda-yadda-yadda.

Kagome huffed and looked up from her brooding, indeed finding the door wide-open. But that was not what she focused on as she let her breakfast fall from her hand, the bread bouncing once on the floor before she had rushed to the doorway and dropping to her knees.

"Mama?" she called hoarsely, already feeling tears forming a tight not in the back of her throat. "Mama? Mama, no, no, no! Mama, wake up, please wake up!" She cried as she cradled her mother's lifeless body close to herself.

A bark came from upstairs before a snow-white blur rushed over to her, the beautiful dog tilting his head down at the motionless woman, before he looked back at Kagome who was now wailing wordlessly. He buffed his wet and cold nose to her cheek and when he got no response he gave her a nudge.

The girl temporarily came out of her state, before she threw one arm, that wasn't holding the older woman, around the dog. She buried her face in his thick fur, letting her tears be soaked into it.

"I can't lose her, InuYasha! I can't- she's- she's all I've left, InuYasha! She can't do this, she can't, I won't let her!" she cried, words muffled.

InuYasha let her cry, let her lean on him. He gave her soft whines and nudges, his versions of comforting noise and embracing. They sat like that until a neighbor heard the girl's helpless crying and called for an ambulance.

InuYasha didn't follow. He thought he couldn't let Kagome get the extra stress of explaining to the doctors why he was a dog and then a human. His heart still ached for her, an almost-memory of his own mother tugging at his heart.

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><p><strong>Would you think me weird if I say I <em>enjoyed<em> writing Kagome's despair? I certainly would. Don' know... hated the first fluff-fluff part, half-liked Sesshys, then fluff-fluff yadda blargh stuff again ._.**

**Maybe I'm a sadist? Huh... Who knew? And I who cries so easily.**

**Otherwise: Guys! Listen and learn! This story is soon up in 50 000 words! *trumpets blaring somewhere in the distance***

**And the story is up in 115 pages!**

**It's getting tiring to delete so much when uploading ._.**

**Should I maybe create a new file for it? Hmm...**

**Tally ho, or however you say it. To the Sherwoodforest! And, _nooo_, I ain't tired at aaaall. It's just half past two in the morning, pfft.**

**Please Review!**

P.S. Story Picture is not really mine-mine. It's a request I made of my best friend Elvira. I swear girl, if you ever read this - thank you dearest so damn MUCH! Love it!**  
><strong>


	40. The Hospital Warning

Hai! And, **Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha characters.**

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><p><em>Kagome's P.O.V<em>

Mother had yet to move, even an inch, in her sleep. Normal people use to thrash a little as they were dreaming, having no control over their dreams or bodies. But mother hadn't done anything. No twitching finger, turning of her head. Not even a movement behind her eyelids.

The doctors said they had never seen anything quite like this before – it was as if she were brain-dead. They hadn't said so with me in the room, probably worried I would take it to heart and start bawling my eyes out. But the door to mother's room was thin; I could hear everything they said, although they thought I couldn't.

I agreed with them – if not for the steady rise and fall of mother's chest, I would have thought her dead.

I clutched her lifeless hand tightly between my own as I sat by her bead, hearing the heart-monitor beep with eerie punctuality. My eyes felt puffy and my throat raw, having cried and screamed for almost an hour before one of the doctors gave me some calming medicine. I was somewhat grateful for it – God knows I would be embarrassed after all of this was over – but now I couldn't quite get the fuzzy feeling out of my head. It didn't quite help that the room was clinically white, blaring fluorescent lamps almost turning the white blinding.

It felt as if it was my evil thinking from before had brought this, whatever it was, upon her. Had the Gods taken displeasure in me and thought this would teach me a lesson? Taking my only remaining family member away from me? If it was so then they had succeeded. I had never had a more bitter taste in my mouth, not even after Souta's or granpa's deaths.

Or maybe this was a punishment for my closeness to InuYasha, a half-werewolf, according to legends a sin. Maybe the Gods thought it disgusting of me or-

'_No!'_ I thought sternly, laying my head over my closed hands around mother's frail one. _'I know they don't – what is the meaning of all beings if they are not meant to be loved.'_

I didn't even comprehend that thought further before I felt a headache coming on. I shouldn't be thinking – I should be focusing on getting mom better, and pray for her. Not think confusing thoughts that didn't matter as much right now.

Absentmindedly, I wished InuYasha was there.

-ooo-

I guessed it was night when I woke again. At least, someone – probably a nurse – had been kind enough to turn the lights off. When I looked around I also noticed a glass of water and a sandwich on the bedside table that hadn't been there before. Though I appreciated the thought, food was the last on my mind right now.

A soft sliver of the moon shone through the window situated behind me – it shone on my mother's figure, my shadow the only dark that permitted the moon entrance. The soft light basked my mother's face a ghostly white, which made her seem more dead than alive. The thought scared me as I hurriedly reached out to clasp her hand again.

"Mama," I mumbled against her hand, pressing a soft kiss to the cool skin. "Please don't leave me here alone." My voice sounded raw and whiny. "Don't leave me in this crazy world. Come back to me." A crazy thought; that she would actually hear me. "Mama, I want you to meet InuYasha – the boy him, not the dog." If anyone walked in now they would think I was a runaway mentalsick. "He is so kind to me – he was with me when I found you; did you know?" Not particularly true, but I figured she wouldn't care much. "He is nice to me – most of the time." I chuckled a little at that. "On other times he can be a real blockhead; only hearing what he wants to hear and then shuts everything else off. Rude and gruff… but, mama, he's a very good friend to me." Now I began to sob too. I hiccupped and leaned my forehead against our joined hands, my own still warmer than hers. "Please wake up. I don't know what I should do if you are gone too…"

I don't know how long I sat there, holding my mother's cool hand, and crying my heart out. It simply wasn't fair – what had mother done to deserve this? Except being an absent mom that only had her work on her mind, I knew deep down that she did it for me, for us. So we wouldn't have to give up another home. I knew that she loved me.

Was she being punished for loving me? Or was it I, who thought she didn't love me enough?

What hurt the most was that this was the longest and most intimate I had talked with her for a very long time…

-ooo-

My eyes burned. My throat was raw. It was still night, though it had been a few hours since I whispered to mom about my new friend. I still felt just as miserable as before, though an even more horrible feeling was about to settle in my chest, one I had been made to go through before; adaption. It made me want to throw up. I was getting used to the idea of my mother in some sort of coma.

Throughout the night I had settled between thinking about my mom's fate, and how InuYasha had felt it. Had he been just as miserable when his mom died? Or rather, was killed? If he had memories of his father, did he feel the same dread as I felt right now?

Where was InuYasha?

He hadn't followed; I remembered as I blearily stroked mom's graying black hair away from her forehead. I wondered why it bothered me, why it was making my heart hurt. Still, I couldn't muster up the strength to figure it out. Looking down at mom's life-drained face, all color bleached from her features, I felt those thoughts literally fly out the window.

'_I can't think about anything other than mom's wellbeing! InuYasha is fine, he know what I am going through. _I think_.'_

That thought made my heart hurt again, but I pushed it away and burrowed my head in mom's coal-hair, inhaling her calming vanilla shampoo.

I hadn't even been holding her like that for five full minutes, before I felt eyes upon me. Not caring to raise my head to see who it was – probably just another nurse with a, what she thought, caring face and worried words. I mumbled out, "Go away. Please."

No one answered. Maybe whoever it was had turned tail and fled out to the corridor. Or said person didn't understand my simply wish to be left alone with my comatose mother. Slowly I raised my head to glare at the offender for not understanding.

My eyes widened, resembling a scary set of saucers, as my jaw dropped at what I saw.

The woman standing in the corner had something regal about her. Her short black hair was neatly pinned to her head by a set of beautiful feather clips, and in one well-manicured hand she held an exotic fan that for the moment tapped with vigor against the woman's hip. She was dressed in a dancer's kimono and stood as one too – ah, that's where the impression of someone regal came from!

As I gaped she strode forward, stopping a foot away from my mother's bedside. She glanced at mom's bleached face, then at me. That was when I noticed the woman's bright red eyes, and her slightly pointed ears, greatly resembling Sesshomaru's.

The only other creatures that I had seen with red eyes and good looks had been out to kill me. Sesshomaru hadn't really 'meant' to try to kill me, or so he said. That was why I acted on impulse.

I grabbed the untouched sandwich and water from the table, and with a quick flick I threw the treat at the woman, who jumped back inhumanly fast. I found myself gaping again, seeing the graceful act, but pulled myself together. Next I threw the water.

The woman swirled, not uttering a sound either with her voice or body, as she flapped her fan open. And just like that, the water froze in midair. Small droplets close to where I had thrown it glistened in the moonlight, glinting at me as if asking why I would throw away something that beautiful. Because it was, those tiny drops of water, frozen in motion as it would forever run to catch up with the larger drop of water.

The woman smirked at me, and then flicked her fan-holding wrist so she was holding the fan over her head. The water then came together, forming into a bulging and stretching orb that never seemed to stop moving. Delicately she bend over the bed, took the glass I still held in my right hand, and held it in herown. Moving her fan-holding hand gently she performed a series of moves that was too fast for my eyes to keep up with. However, I could see how the water thinned to the same size as a thin pole, before it slowly moved back into the glass. Not one drop missed.

When the water was secured inside the glass container the woman let her hand fall, smirked at my dumbfounded expression and took a sip from the water. I suddenly remembered how to talk.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked rudely, towering protectively over my mother's motionless form. I wouldn't just let this strange woman come in here, do some fancy tricks and then kill mom or me.

She gave an unladylike snort, her red painted lips parted slightly as she spoke. "Little kitten, draw in your claws; I'm not here to play with you."

Even though she smirked snottily at me, with a kind of aloof air about her, I had no doubt she was deadly serious right then. And then I do mean _dead_-serious; there was no doubt which one of us would end up as a corpse for the nurses to find in the morning, would I or she decide to jump at each other's throat.

Still standing over my mother I stared the beautiful woman dead-on. "Why are you here, and who are you?" My tone had lost the rudeness, but was still wary. And weary too, for that matter.

She smiled, poising small but deadly fangs in her mouth. "My name is Kagura, wind enchantress," she bowed mockingly to me, which made me narrow my eyes. "As to my business… a warning."

I glared at her. "Explain."

"Oh, you are no fun, little girl. Have you been hanging with Fluffy-sama for too long?" Kagura chuckled. At my 'what-the-fuck' expression she sighed and waved with her hand dismissively. "Fine. See that woman? Your mom, I believe it is."

One moment of more staring at the woman passed. Then it fell over me like a ton of bricks. "_You_ did this to her?" I all but screamed, feeling rage bubble under my skin, an angry feeling in my tummy fighting to break free.

Kagura snorted and rolled her eyes, which almost made me hiss and bare my own fangs. "_No_. Jeez, just listen. _That,_" she motioned over my mom's still form," is my _master's_ warning to you, so you will stay out of his way." By the icy and disgusted tone she used for the word 'master' I understood she detested the said man. He must be quite a fella.

Contemplating her words, I drew a blank. What business was I supposed to but out from? I cursed the Gods; not only did they take my family away from me, now they sent me beautiful people that thought it would be fun to play around with me until I either ended up dead or with cero brain-function. I looked down at mom, taking a single dark lock between my fingers and twiddled with it. _Mom…_

"What have I done?" Since I didn't know, I might as well ask. Good manners are only second to wisdom and knowledge, as Dad used to say.

"Played with too many stray dogs," was her breathy answer in my ear. Jerking my head up, I turned bewildered eyes to stare at her, only to find her gone. I scanned the room, every corner, even under the bed. But she was just gone.

Suppressing a shiver that crawled up and down my spine, I plopped down in the way too hard chair. I tell you, metal chair's plus my bottom equals to a bruised butt. I groaned as I rubbed my hands over my tired and sore eyes.

'_Played with too many stray dogs,' was her breathy answer._

InuYasha…

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><p><strong>Soooorry, everyone for the ridiculously late update! Usually, I try to post a new chapter at least once a week, but after grandma falling ill, general-gamer-mood escalating, kittens running around and dissappearing from time to time, a trip to my country's capital Stockholm for a week and beign to the cinema watching <em>The Amazing Spiderman<em> ***insert deep breath here***, I have kinda forgotten. So, I'm really sorry!**

**And, yes, I do plan to have another chapter up by this weekend. _If_ Internet can be so kind as to work _with_ me this time.**

**Please, do review!**


	41. Brothers and Shoes

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha.**

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><p><em>InuYasha's P.O.V<em>

"So." Funny how my half-brother only had to use one word to state just how irritated and snotty he was at the moment. Currently at me it seemed. Then again, coming home after a two nights and two days does usually give another person the right to have such feelings.

However, this was Sesshomaru, my _half-brother_, we were talking about. The Killing Perfection, void of any emotions.

Trustfully, it only felt creepy.

"What?" I growled, as I sauntered into the living room where the lord himself laid draped gracefully across his favorite armchair. Sesshomaru laid back in the chair, head tilted back over the back of the furniture with his long silverhair pouring over it, almost reaching the floor. His hands were clasped over his stomach.

He didn't say anything, only laid there with his eyes closed. I huffed, irritated with both him and myself, and jumped onto the couch. I laid down on the long-lived furniture and sighed with content.

"What happened?" If I wasn't irritated before, I was now. What gave him the right to ask me such things? Was he really _that_ worried? He had never been before! And where was he when I needed him, when I walked the streets? Probably off somewhere, killing some poor bastards just to raise his own self-esteem.

"Why should anything have happened?" I retorted gruffly. I knew I was behaving like a child, but I didn't really know of another way to talk with my brother. If Kagome had been here she would have lectured me.

A pain tugged at my chest, but it disappeared just as soon as it had come. Absentmindedly I rubbed the spot, glancing over at Sesshomaru. I tensed. The bastard was glaring at me!

"What?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Do not try to evade my questions, little brother," he drawled, his cold and golden eyes, so like my own, flashing evilly. "And do refrain from lying; I can scent fear and pain on you."

I stared at him. Then my jaw dropped and I started laughing uncontrollably. "Do you realize how _disdusting_ that sounded, creep?"

"_InuYasha_." Funny, how one word, even my name, could sound like a reprimand. I sighed heavily.

"Nothing, really. Just cleared up the mess you did, met a weird wolf, slept over at her house-"

"O-ho, did you now?" I glanced at him and saw the bastard smirking mischievously. For the life of me I couldn't figure it out right away, thus I replayed our previous conversation through my mind. Then, realization.

"No! Damn, not _that_ way, bastard!" I felt the blush exploding all over my face. Had I had human ears, those would probably have been red too. Now they were only throbbing with the blood that rushed to my head.

"Hnn," he mumbled, clearly not really believing me. But his icy mask had slipped back into place, and he was once more staring aloofly at me. "Continue."

I cussed under my breath at being commanded, but nonetheless I did as told. "Keh. Yeah, I was sleeping over, _on the floor with her being in bed_," I glared at him when a small smirk wound its way up the corner of his mouth, "and the next morning her mom collapsed."

Hah, that melted that blasted smile from his ugly face. "Do you know the reason?"

I shook my head no. "Nothing. But Kagome was pretty up."

Sesshomaru nodded, before he leaned his head back down at the backrest and closed his eyes. "Understandable."

I glared at him for a moment, before I too lowered myself back over the sofa. Closing my eyes I inhaled deeply. A peculiar scent tingled in my nose and my eyes shot open, staring at the ceiling.

"Hey," I muttered, already knowing he would hear me. "Who's the lady?"

He was silent for several minutes. I huffed and closed my eyes again, figuring he wouldn't tell me. Hell, he hadn't even told me about my childhood until Kagome squeezed it out of him; why would he tell me, his father's _bastard's son_ as he liked to call me, who he changed different body fluids with? I groaned mentally and swatted that mental image away.

"_Lady_ is a much too formal word to describe the likes of her kind," he suddenly said, sounding oddly bitter and angry.

I decided to tease him. "Why? Couldn't hook up with a real one so you decided to hire a prostitute?"

Before I noticed him move, he had blurred to the sofa and had me pinned by my throat down on the furniture. With eyes probably as wide as saucers, I stared into his red-shifting eyes and snarling mouth that procured sharp teeth. He snarled at me in a language I had never heard him utter before.

"_Do not,"_ he hissed then, English this time, _"assume that this Sesshomaru would mingle with the likes of whores and hookers." _His voice sounded like if he was talking through a tunnel; echoing and oddly deformed.

Silently I stared back at him, who was still snarling and snapping in that weird language, before slowly showing my throat to him. Then I, just as slow, inched my hands up to rest beside either side of my head. It was humiliating, irritating and the most embarrassing I had ever done; but instincts told me that if I so much as moved, I would have an eighty kilogram werewolf at my throat. And Sesshomaru around a male's neck is _not_ the most fashionable thing on the market.

Waiting for him to accept my act of submission, I found myself wondering. Not over what had made Sesshomaru act like this, nor if I should wet my pants or whimper. No, my mind wandered to Kagome, wondering if she was alright, if her mom was okay. How weird; danger seemed to make me think of her foremost.

Sesshomaru snorted loudly, effectively drawing my eyes back to him. Slowly the red bled out of his eyes and when he blinked rapidly the gold shimmered back into vision. My brother shook his head and stared down at me for a moment.

"Look," I rasped, still having his claws at my throat," don't take this the wrong way…"

He raised an eyebrow.

"But," I continued, slowly smirking mischievously," I'm not gay. Sorry."

He glared icily at me before gracefully removing himself from my person, but not before giving me a light shove. Apparently, he didn't appreciate my sense of humor. I snickered as I sat upright, but winced as my throat throbbed.

"Damn it, Sesshomaru. Did you have to be so rough?" I asked, massaging my bruised throat and glaring at the bastard.

The corner of his lips twitched. "Every pup needs a reprimand to know their alpha," he answered cryptically. That's my half-brother alright; always wanting to be on top. I winced and soberly pressed my throat. Yep, on top, that petty bastard.

-ooo-

The good things with being a werewolf is that you heal pretty fast, have intensified hearing and scent. Also, you have one heck of instincts when in a brawl.

The downsides with it are that whenever the moon is full you get that disturbing urge to run through forests, hunt and sing to the moon. Poetic for some – gibberish for me. Then again, I'm not even full were, and I have to be a dog for at least twelve hours a day. Such as, right now.

I glared down at my paws, silently protesting in my own mind to my situation. Why couldn't the pain-in-the-ass-lord be the one to turn into a dog? The bastard simply deserved it more than _I_ did. I didn't even do anything to get this other body of mine; it was all my parents fault. Damn older people who couldn't do anything else than make love to each other.

I sneezed and rubbed my enlarged nose with the side of my paw. What the hell was that scent in here? Who had Sesshomaru had over? A woman – he had confirmed that. But who was it that had such a stench of rotting meat? And why did it smell so familiar? Glaring at the bastard's bedroom's door, I snorted. Maybe she too enjoyed the killing a little too much, and was better at it than Sesshomaru, thus she coming here to gloat, and he acting like a bully toward me. I wanted to laugh at the image, but only managed a kind of coughing sound. It sounded remarkably alike a cat trying to puke, which wiped the amusing image away.

Sighing I trotted out of the little door that Sesshomaru had – kindly? Nah, rather amusedly – installed after my "return", as he called it. I preferred the term "kidnapping". Or, well, he kidnapped Kagome, and then made me follow to see that she was alright. The manipulative bastard.

Trotting down the streets some time later, I ended up outside Kagome's house. The horrible stench of pain and tears littered the place now, rather than the otherwise murky and Kagome-infused scent it used to have. _That_ is something that is good with my other form – all senses become clearer than at night. Which was my reason for being here.

Putting my nose into the ground I sniffed around. A couple of times I would come across interesting holes and patches that my new instincts simply couldn't resist investigate, so it was a few hours before twilight when I came across something I didn't expect.

A shoe.

Not any shoe; not those modern ones with tying and clothing and fiftytwo hundred tiny ropes tying everything together. This shoe smelled old, but not as if it had been lying there for a long time – rather as if it had been _used_ and in the world for a remarkable amount of time. It was formed as a simply sandal, made out of withstanding wood and two pieces of rope, made for being settled between toes.

I sniffed the article and if I could I would have frowned. I sneezed to clear my nose and then tried again. But nothing changed – I still couldn't find any scent of whether human or an otherworldly beast had worn it. It was devoid of any scent, save the natural ones coming from the shoe.

With a plop, I dropped my rump down on the asphalt, staring with irritation at the article. I knew from experience that nothing that had been used by a being could lose its scent; it would fade, sure. But never truly disappear.

I bared my fangs at the shoe, and my shackles rose as the cold water of realization washed over my fur. Poetic, I know, but the feeling I got certainly wasn't.

It was no human, nor sickness, that had done this to Kagome's mom. Only a sick bastard beast of the otherworld.

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><p><strong>Hooookay. This was supposed to be up on Friday, but a new fun game (Dragon Age 2! Yay!) and another fanfic (Robot Era) have kept me busy. Also, I think my eye are a little red. Probably due to a <em>lot<em> of computer-using this summer. Oh, well.**

**Please review, and thank you all for the kind ones from last!**


	42. Imprint On Heart

**I don't own InuYasha characters. If I did, I would be rich, famous and have fiftytwo cats with their own servants! InuYasha characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi.**

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><p><em><strong>InuYasah's POV<strong>_

This feeling, brewing in my dog-form's chest, was making me feel itchy. I haven't had to feel like this for someone in a long time, since I've always been alone – if not for my brother that is. The man that had taken care of me didn't count either, seeing as he did it out of pity or something.

To worry about someone couldn't be healthy for the heart.

One or two hours left of the day, and I was foolishly trying to figure out where Kagome was, which hospital she was currently at. If that shoe was any indication, it was some monster that had done that to Kagome's mom. That meant that someone was after Kagome or her family especially.

Which meant that the creature could just as well be with her right now, either trying to eat her or kill her. I shuddered as I sniffed the ground furiously. _Or doing something far worse that would leave her screaming all nights to come_.

I grit my teeth and sniffed the corners of Kagome's home, the road, the shoe, repeat. My nerves were winded tightly together, almost to the point of breaking.

_Alright_, I thought bitterly, staring at a green piece of glass as if it was its fault that the glaciers were melting, _As Kagome would say – take deep breaths and just think rationally. It's not that hard._

I could almost hear Sesshomaru scoff at that.

So, what did I know? Other than a monster had been here and done something, that Kagome's mom had fallen ill and thus…

People would have stared long at me, had they seen me in my dogform, currently facepalming myself. Of course! She had fallen ill; the ambulance had come and taken her to the hospital! Good, pat on the back, give the dog a bone. No pun intended.

Now, the next problem… _which hospital_ had they taken the mother to? And Kagome?

Looking at the slowly darkening sky I growled in the back of my throat, feeling helpless and frustrated at myself. Why had I let her go with her mom on her own? Why hadn't I followed? Better yet; why had I returned to Sesshomaru when clearly it was Kagome that needed me the most?

I knew why, but it was a feeling I didn't want to admit. Not yet.

I scraped my claws over the asphalt as I thought, trying to remain calm and not fall into an abyss of despair. If Kagome ever got to know how frightened I felt, she would never let me swallow it.

Kagome's little family didn't have much – if her frantic crying the night Sesshomaru had kidnapped her was any indication, so she couldn't afford an expensive and far away hospital.

I felt my ears perk at the realization, and my dog-form let out a happy yip before I was flying over the pavement, keeping relatively close to the shadows – people would get a heart attack if they saw first a dog and then a naked guy running through the streets.

I knew where she was, and I would be damned if I didn't get to her first.

-ooo-

Awfully much can happen to a dog. Especially a dog without a collar, without an owner, that is running over roads where cars honked and brakes screeched to avoid said dog.

So far I had been thrown rocks at by some kids, hunted by people who thought I was a runaway dog, and actually shot at. But I guess the last one was my own fault; that old lady probably thought I was there to dig up her flowers or something equally fruitless.

Twilight was approaching fast, and if I didn't get into the hospital soon, I would have one hell of an explanation to give the people who saw me change. At the hospital at least, I would be able to get some kind of cover. Probably in a patient's clothing – the way too airy nightgown, with that awful bleached green color.

I huffed at my thoughts, looked right and left before sprinting over the road. Just listen to my thinking – I sounded worse than a clothing designer.

Then, just as I reached the shadows, twilight fully desended. I toppled over in the corner of the street, gasping for breath as I pressed my head to the ground, curling up around my stomach, as if I thought I could stop the retching I knew would come.

'_Oh God, not here!'_

The ripples started from the tail, wallowing from the tip into my body, as cold water trickling down a pipe. With every ripple my tail grew shorter and shorter until nothing remained of the white limb that usually was curled up over my back when daylight broke. Hacking desperately, trying to get down air into my screeching lungs, I tried to look through bleary eyes around me, terrified that someone would come and see me coughing my internals up.

These moments of pain usually had me black out for a few minutes, lying naked on the floor – or ground, if I was unfortunate – curled up into a ball, like a victim of a beating. Sometimes people had seen me and actually tried to carry me to a hospital. Those times I had been pushed to either knock them out or flee, before they saw me. Those who did, met the end of Sesshomaru's claws – those I knew of at least.

I shuddered as another retch crawled up my back, leaving a cold shiver skidding over my now sweating, hairless skin. My bones crackled and groaned as they reformed and stretched, the hair that now was gone leaving a itching feeling that wouldn't leave for one or two hours. Even if I were to be coughing my lungs up, I would gladly do it if it meant that no more human would be hurt. With that thought in mind, I dragged myself – a seventy kilos half-human – over the pavement, hid myself in an alley, and completely welcomed the transformation.

-ooo-

'"_If you persists it will hurt more, and for a longer time,"'_ Sesshomaru had said once, while, what I thought, attacking me. _'"Once you lets go, it will flow like water."'_ Flow, my ass. It was a painful process, no matter how you looked at it. It felt more like garbage flow over you, sticking and hurting from your occasional bits of glass.

Speaking of which, something that day must have smiled with fortune down at me. After puking – another natural process, I guess – when the transformation was through, and I was more human than feral again, I had actually found a pair of dispatched trousers, hanging high up over my head. It must have been thrown up there, for I myself know no sane soul that would hang his or hers clothes over an electric cable. Then again, people do throw their shoes like that.

Looking out at the still unoccupied street – thank God it was still early morning – I crouched down low, my bottom almost touching the pavement – a thought that made me cringe – and then jumped. I flew easily the four meters straight up, snatched the trousers in the speed of momentum, and then landed with a soft thump on the ground again. Quickly I donned the trousers, ignored the icky feeling of years of weather and bird-dung touching my skin, and sighed with relief. One horribly embarrassing moment over and done with.

I groaned and stretched my aching muscles, placed my hands on my hips and straightened my back until I could hear several pops. Then I shook and let out a loud sigh, before I began jogging. Now I only had to find Kagome.

-ooo-

The receptionist at the hospital had given me several strange looks, all the time at my chest and stomach. Well, one time she had glanced up at my face and head – my ears hidden behind a cloth I had used as a bandana – before she seemed transfixed by my body again.

It felt weird being ogled by an old woman, but at least she had enough sense in her to point out the direction of where Kagome were.

Walking down the halls I scrunched my nose and took a tentative sniff. Hospitals. I hate hospitals. The smell of sickness and death were heavy in the building, burning my nose and making my lungs ache in need of clean air. The monk who raised me had tried to bring me once when I had a high fever, but upon entering the building I had reeled and screamed bloody murder. Since then, he had never tried to take me there again.

I smiled fondly at the memory, but it soon faltered as I stopped before a door, from which the cleanest and most soothing scent wafted towards me, coming from under the door. The scent of Kagome. And… _demon_?!

I grit my teeth and threw the door open, hands extended at my sides, each ready to claw at the intruder, gut he or her like a fish… but all I saw was a window opened on the far side of the room, inviting fresh air and a little sunlight into the room. To my right laid one bed, where a woman laid. She looked old, dark shadows under her eyes and her skin – so pale, so pale. My eyes widened. She looked like she was dead.

But then I noticed the raise and fall of her chest and let out a loud sigh. Then I heard a sharp intake of air and raised my head – staring into two startled hues of deepest blue.

I sighed again and scratched the back of my head with one of my clawed fists. "A-ah… hey, Kagome. You alright?"

She blinked at me, once, twice. Then a pained expression crawled onto her features and she held out a hand towards me, the other one holding her mother's. I understood immediately and hurried to her side, crouched down and took her so small and cold hand in mine.

"I-InuYasha," she gasped, and threw both of her arms around me, sniffling and sobbing into the crook of my neck. My heart skipped a beat at the surprising act and my whole body tensed, not being used to close contact with anyone. Soon enough I relaxed and let her cry, knowing she had wanted to hold onto someone this whole time.

"Hush, Kagome. I'm here now," I murmured and awkwardly stroked the back of her head, my clawed hand easily slipping through her black tresses. "It's alright, it will be alright, I promise. I won't let anythin' happen, either to you or your mom."

She hiccupped and gripped my back, her blunt nails digging in slightly into it as she hanged onto me like a drowning person would to a lifebuoy. I held her gently, making crooning noises that had me blushing furiously, while rocking her slowly from side to side.

After some minutes she calmed down and drew deep shuddering breaths. Then she pushed me gently back and wiped at her eyes, now red and puffy. My nose twitched at the scent of tears, but I didn't say anything as she wiped away the remaining trails of tears on her cheeks.

Finally Kagome looked up at me, staring at me through narrowed eyes as she blinked away tears and tiredness. "W-what are you doing here?" she whispered. I flinched at the hoarse sound – how long had she been screaming and crying exactly?

"I, well, um, noticed something when being to your house." Kagome stared at me. "N-nothing like that! I-I mean, it got me worried so I came here."

A ghost of a smile wafted over her face. "In that? Sesshomaru let you out like that?"

I blinked, brought my gaze down to my bare chest and smirked, before schooling my features and frowning at her. "Are you okay?"

She sighed, the smile faltering, and brought a hand to rub her forehead. "Yes. I mean, no. I mean… look, mom is sick with something no one recognizes. The closest guess is that she is comatose, but that is still too far off."

I frowned darker. "Yeah, I know."

Kagome whipped her head up, blue hues tinted with red staring hard at me. "How?"

I bit my lip, contemplating if I should tell her or not. Seeing her worried face, dark circles under her eyes and the redness surrounding them, I thought against it. "I will tell you later. Have you been sleeping at all?"

She frowned, but didn't push it. "Yeah. A little." The answer was short, clipped and sounded nothing like the Kagome I knew. I searched her face in an attempt of seeing what was wrong, but when she sniffed and rubbed her nose I let it drop. Standing up I offered my hand again. Kagome only stared at me in response, whereas I wiggled my fingers at her.

"Come on. Let's find something to eat. You can't do anything here right now," I said as gently as possible. Apparently not gently enough.

"What? How can you say that? She's my mother! I have to stay here until she wakes up!" she shrieked, slapping my hand away. She turned and grabbed her mother's lifeless hand again, completely ignoring my presence.

My temper bubbled, but I wouldn't let it get to me. I laid a hand on her shoulder, which she shrugged off. "Kagome, I didn't mean anything bad – just that you have to eat so your mom won't be worried about you when you wake up." Kagome glared at me over her shoulder, huffed and stared down at her mother's still face. I did the same, but couldn't watch the woman's dull hair or the pale, pasty skin for long before I focused on the top of her daughters head again. "Kagome, at least drink something."

That caught her attention, as she glanced to her side at a glass standing innocently on the bedside table. For some reason she shuddered at the sight of it and then stared emotionlessly down at her mother's face, one of her hands smoothing the woman's dark bangs. "No," she said sternly.

I sighed and buffed her shoulder with my hip. "Hey, want me to call for the nurses? Maybe they can give you some drip, eh?"

Kagome pushed me away harshly, so suddenly that I almost stumbled. "What do you want, InuYasha?" she asked coldly, with a low voice that was more of a whisper, and stiffened slightly as if preparing herself for a beating. I had never heard her sound like that, not even when I had "chased" her in her house, not when she was so scared. To be frank, it hurt to hear her have that tone to me. And the way she stiffened, trying either to look as small as possible or avoid further physical contact… something was wrong.

"What's w-"

"InuYasha." Her voice said, still low, but this time firmer. "I think it is best if you go now. And please," her head bowed lower, her hair creating a curtain around her face and hiding her features," don't come back ever again."

An ice cube slid down my back… no, that isn't powerful enough to describe the feeling. More like a blade had been thrust into my chest… no, that wasn't it either.

It felt as if she had just taken my trembling heart and crushed it under her shoe.

I stared at her, long and hard for her to turn around and look at me, say that she was just kidding. That she would smile at me, even if it was forced from grief.

She did neither.

My barely beating heart thrashed, with her shoe's imprint on it. I bit tongue to keep the harsh words at bay. Iron filled my senses and dulled out the hospital's constant stench of medicine and dying – but the blood remained, making me nauseous. Or maybe that was my heart trying to get back into my body. "Fine," I bit out, lacing my words carefully with a veil of anger," whatever you want." Without a word I hurried past her and to the door, where I stopped for a few seconds. I was still hoping she would say something, that she would take it all back.

Again, she did nothing, still sitting with her head bowed.

I blinked my eyes rapidly, wondering if the salty smell came from her or from me.

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><p><strong>There's no excuses available in the world to excuse this long delay. Well, two, kinda. Life has returned, and I have to do a project this year in school before I graduate. Which means, I may not have the time to write fanfiction, since I will be writing a book together with a classmate. The other reason was that InuYasha was incredibly grumpy the last three weeks, and wouldn't come out as I wanted in the beginning of this chapter. Sulking little bastard... <strong>

**Hmm. Writing novels about Neanderthals and Cro-Magnon... we'll see how that goes.**

**Please review!**


	43. Big Brothers Concerns

Oh my gosh! A Chapter! What in the world is happening?! **Disclaimer: Author to this story do not own InuYasha. If she did, she would be out there writing autographs, and not be in school.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 43. <strong>

Sesshomaru couldn't care less about his half-brother. Really. It was the pup's own fault if the human girl thought him unnecessary and in the way, also if she was scared about her mother's well-being. The fullblooded werewolf had no doubt that she blamed the two of them for what had happened. So Sesshomaru didn't care, not when InuYasha got back with lifeless eyes, or that the boy hadn't even bothered to bark at Sesshomaru.

Really, it didn't touch him at all.

Sighing heavily he brought a clawed hand through his wet hair, trying to get the strands to submit to his whim. Try as he might, his hair had a mind of its own, especially after a shower. Grabbing a towel and quickly drying himself off he dragged on a pair of underwear, grey trousers following suit. He let his chest be bare, enjoying the cool feel of morning licking his skin as he walked out of the bathroom.

Walking through the hallway, on his way out, he paused by the room he had given InuYasha. Not caring to knock on the door – he was Sesshomaru, and this was his house – he opened it and strode into the dark room. He narrowed his eyes slightly as he felt the cold air, which he had previously enjoyed, bit into his bare skin.

"Still sulking, little brother?" he asked, peering into the darkness to look at the immobile lump on the small bed. Nothing moved to indicate the half-blood had heard him. Only the sound of breathing showed that InuYasha was still alive.

Huffing softly, Sesshomaru strode forward until he stood mere inches from the bed, staring down. Nothing moved, not even the boy's uncharacteristic ears. "It will do no good to feel sorry for yourself, half-breed."

Golden eyes glinted in the dark, moved lazily up to Sesshomaru's own. Sesshomaru shivered, not sure if it was because of the cold air in the room.

"Go away," InuYasha mumbled, eyes slowly closing again.

It made his blood run hot through his veins to see his brother this miserable, this weak. All because of a human woman. It was pathetic to feel such lousiness over a puny human, to see the resemblance between his father's weakness and his little brother's.

Resolutely the older brother grabbed the thin mattress under the younger one, and tugged it out from under the boy with one quick move. As it was, InuYasha rolled with the motion and fell face first into the carpet.

"What did ya' do that for?!" he barked, jumping up and growling furiously straight into Sesshomaru's face. Who, as calm as he was, resisted the urge to sink to his brother's level and bark right back. Instead he raised his hand and without a word backhanded the still growling boy across the cheek.

The power in the hit sent InuYasha twirling around in place, losing his balance once more and crashing down on the mattress-bare bed. This time he did not growl, not even say anything. He laid still, breathing in shallow gasps.

"You are a fool, InuYasha," Sesshomaru murmured plainly, turned on his heel and stalked out of the room, his head held high.

Before he closed the door, fully intent on letting the half-breed sulk for another hour, he heard his brother's whisper, "I know that."

-ooo-

His brother, now in his cursed akita inu form, was still sulking. Not eating, not barking at him. Sesshomaru wasn't sure if InuYasha had even been to the toilet yet. The sulking dog only lay there, not batting an eye as Sesshomaru looked in from time to time to see if the boy had done something bad. Taken suicide or something worse – like drop a dung on Sesshomaru's carpet.

The stoic werewolf scrunched his nose at the thought, but only slightly as he peeked into his brother's now lit-up room, sunshine spilling in from the small window.

The dog looked even more miserable than before – eyes staring unseeingly before him, glazed over by an emotion unknown to Sesshomaru. The white ears slicked back atop of its skull. _Pathetic_, Sesshomaru's blood sang.

Striding into the room, he stopped and crouched before the dog, waiting for it to look at him. When InuYasha idn't, Sesshomaru growled lowly in his throat.

"I am your alpha, little brother," he murmured lowly, growl coloring his voice. "As such, I demand that you, as the little human would say, cheer up."

This time the dog's dull golden hues flicked lazily over to Sesshomaru, stared for a second before it sighed and jumped down from the bed. But instead of moving about, as Sesshomaru fully expected it to do, the dog simply laid back down with its muzzle between its paws.

Sesshomaru stared, not rising from his position. He knew what this behavior meant. "Is that all?" he asked. "You will submit to me without question?"

The dog didn't move. Not even a twitch from an ear.

"Then you truly have lost hope of life, or you really are just as pathetic as our father." Sesshomaru huffed uncharacteristically. "Over a human woman – what is wrong with you? How can you fall so easily and not manage to take yourself up from that hole, created by that weak, pathetic, _stupid_ human bit-"

InuYasha launched himself at Sesshomaru, actually knocking the stoic werewolf onto his rump. Growling ferociously, lips drawn back, InuYasha stood threateningly on Sesshomaru's chest, teeth snapping at Sesshomaru's throat.

Sesshomaru didn't let the small surprise face him. Reaching around the snarling dog slowly he grabbed the dog's neck and lifted it slightly. InuYasha's body immediately slouched over, relaxing in his older brother's hold. Although his eyes never left Sesshomaru's.

"You are pathetic little brother," Sesshomaru murmured, narrowing his eyes at the akita inu. "If it pains you so, then go to her."

He let the dog drop down on the ground with a thud, and left the room with a bang to the door.

-ooo-

He didn't return to his younger half-brother that night. Why would he? InuYasha would only launch himself at Sesshomaru if he did. That boy needed his time to think, and think for a while before he could even attempt to calm down.

Sesshomaru smiled, taking a sip from his tea and grimacing. Good grace, the humans nowadays certainly had lost their touch with the tea flavor, making it bitter and itchy for the tongue. Of course, it wasn't really humans that made his tea now – it was those machines that the humans had made that created the little teabags.

No, he would not submit to the tea. With a deep breath he gulped the rest of the brownish water down, coughed softly and set the cup down gently on the kitchen counter. And he would certainly not return for his brother any time soon.

-ooo-

Sesshomaru couldn't say he was surprised, when he opened InuYasha's door that evening and saw nothing except the non-moving, non-living objects in the sparse room. No little brother that shouted angrily. Neither the strange half-brother that only stared at nothing before him.

Against his nature he found himself smiling. Why he wasn't quite sure; because he was finally off with his half-brother? He shook his head, chuckling quietly.

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><p><strong>I'm<strong> so sorry for such a late update! And for such a SHORT chapter! This one was simply a pain to write, and since technology seems to hate me as of recently (my loved little laptop's screen died... so right now I've abducted my parents 8D)

If you still find it worth your time to read this, and don't wish to eat me alive or possibly harrass me for late chappie... please... review? *doing cute kitty eyes*


	44. Another Visit

**Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or its characters. I merely borrow them for my own storytelling.**

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><p>She came again that night. The woman in a kimono and bearing a fan.<p>

Kagome was alone at home; something that she had become accustomed to after five years, but it had never felt quite so lonely before. Not when she knew that her mother would be home sometime during the 24 hours a day consisted of.

This time however, she knew her mom wouldn't come home for quite some time – perhaps never.

So, face buried in her pillow and her back facing the room, a packet of chocolate ice-cream melting on the drawer and clad in pajamas, Kagome had been dozing off while trying not to think about _the_ fight with InuYasha or the possible loss of her last family member.

Then a gust of wind had materialized at her side.

"Good job, little girl." Kagome had somehow, subconsciously, known who it was before the woman spoke. That didn't hinder the shiver that ran down her spine as an oddly cold breath touched the shell of her ear. "You did the right thing; he won't be harmed now."

Kagome shuddered, despite her efforts to lie as still as possible. As the kimono-woman lightly touched her hair Kagome, to her chagrin, flinched.

"Hopefully, you won't have reason to fear either," she said in low tones, almost too low for Kagome to hear. An invisible wind chilled her back and ruffled her hair, and then the sorceress was gone.

No way was she going to sleep now. She sat up slowly and looked around – window closed, bedroom door locked – and rubbed her eyes. Kagome just knew she would look like a raccoon that was sleep deprived if she went to the bathroom and peered into the mirror now. She would probably smell as one as well, seeing as she hadn't bothered taking a shower in more or less two days.

'Come on, Kagome! This won't do; you've got to get yourself together!' It's easy to be peppy in your mind, when your heart felt like it had been torn out, ripped in itsy-bitsy pieces, and then stapled back together. Nonetheless, Kagome thought with a wan smile, her mind was right; it wouldn't do to cry her eyes out and just let life go by. Sure, she wasn't an adult and by all means had the right to bawl as much as she wanted – but Kagome wasn't a child either. Somehow, it would all work out.

That was what Kagome told herself as she stumbled to her feet and hobbled into the bathroom.

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><p><strong>Author Note. <strong>Well**.** As some - or all - of you who are reading may have noticed, I've been really bad with updates. Frankly it is because I'm on my last year before going to university, and these are the last month's before summer break. As a special project I and a classmate have created a book featuring different important - and historical - happenings which we have made short novels to. Thus, most if not all of my time has been to that and other schoolsubjects, and in the end I didn't have much energy left for fanfiction.

Now I'm trying to pick up my poor, abused fanfictions once more - but I find it hard to do as I've forgotten mostly all I've written. Because of that, I will shorten my chapters from now on.

Sorry for the delay.


	45. Clean Thinking

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha - not the characters nor the series. I just borrow them for my own imaginations benefits.**

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><p>A half hour later she emerged and she was clean, from toes to teeth, and a towel around her head in a tight turban. She regarded the ever melting ice-cream on her drawer, but couldn't muster up the will to put it back into the freezer. The ice-cream was like kin right now; trapped in a vortex that it couldn't escape from, and couldn't do anything else but bend to the will of nature.<p>

"But this isn't anything natural," she muttered to herself crossly. Nothing could be natural or normal about the mess she was in right now.

Kidnapped, attacked, threatened… nothing about it should be natural for a teenage girl.

Nothing was normal about the warm feeling in her chest every time she thought of InuYasha. A hurting, yet wonderful feeling. Kagome knew what the feeling was… but she didn't want to admit it.

She plopped down on her chair and absentmindedly undid the turban. Admitting that feeling meant admitting everything that had happened – and admitting that might as well undo her for it meant that she could never get anything back but her memories of everything.

As she began combing through her long tresses with her fingers she thought of the first time she had seen InuYasha. Was that really barely two weeks ago? Or was it only a week? She frowned and tried to do the math… which didn't work. Not only because of poor math skills – thanks for the genes, dad! – but somehow the days she had spent with InuYasha and those in-between was muddled together.

Her fingers were getting cold, she noted as she remembered what she was doing. This wasn't like her – to get lost in memories and having "what if"s. After most of her family had died she had been extremely absentminded and could stare into thin air for hours of no one was there to stop her.

But getting like this over InuYasha… Kagome barely knew the boy!

She shook her hand of stray hair that had gotten caught by the welts of her fingers and reached for the towel she had discarded behind her, but let out a squeak as said towel fell down over her head and completely made the world around her dark.

Someone else was in the room with her…


	46. Your Consent

**Disclaimer: None of the InuYasha characters are mine. I'm only borrowing them.**

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><p>"Yo, Kagome!"<p>

Said girl almost shrieked as she heard her assaulter. She managed to gulp it back down as she jerked the towel off her still wet hair.

"Kouga? What _are_ you doing?" Kagome exclaimed, staring wide-eyed at the grinning boy standing just behind her. The nerve; leaning against her wall as if it was his own. Wait a- "How did you get in?"

He raised a dark eyebrow and a fang glinted as he smirked. "Through the window?"

She blanched. "But it's six meters up!"

"Your point being?" he asked, looking casually around the room. His eyes stayed on her discarded underclothes from before her shower. "Heeh – something you want to tell me?"

Kagome yelped and leaped for the clothes. "What do you _want_?" she asked after she had successfully stuffed her garments into her dresser.

Kouga was studying a photo of her family on her desk. "Oh, nothing really. Just dropin' by, that's all. Hey, that's one hockey player, right there." He pointed a clawed finger at a six year old Kagome, with two teeth missing.

She snorted, still somewhat unnerved by his sudden presence in her room, but couldn't help but correct him. "More like too much candy."

The boy snorted and assessed her body from the corner of his eye. "Can't say I agree on that."

Kagome flushed instantly. In an effort to calm herself – she could _see_ the smug grin Kouga was sporting! – she leaned against the dresser and crossed her arms. "Seriously though – what do you want? Haven't your momma taught you it is naughty to come into a girl's room without her consent?"

His grin widened. She flushed more crimson as she realized what she'd said.

In two steps he stood right in front of her, easily towering over her petite form. Kagome swallowed nervously as the sudden proximity and leaned back to look up at him.

Electric blue eyes glimmered. "Do I have your consent to be here then, Ka-go-me?" A fang poked out of his grin, glittering lightly as light bounced off the surface. Kagome wondered dimly how sharp it would be.

Was the room getting smaller or was he getting closer?

'_What's going on?!'_

She stood stock-still, wide-eyed as the world seemed to close in on her.

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><p><strong>Wheee! <strong>I'm not dead!

Long overdue, I know, and I'm sorry, and all that. I'll try to update more often. Can't promise anything though!

If there's any spelling or other wrong grammar, please don't hesitate to PM me about it, or simply leave a review about it!


	47. Don't Break It, Alright?

**I don't own any InuYasha characters. **

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><p>"No!"<p>

Kagome blinked. And blinked again as she saw Kouga taking a step back, holding a hand to his chest. He too was blinking, somewhat surprised.

Oh. She had pushed him.

"Hah!" Kagome jumped slightly as Kouga began laughing. "I _knew_ there was something about you that had gotten dog-turd's panties in a twist! Good to know that you know how to say no." He winked at her dumbfounded expression.

What the…

"What do you mean? What did you do that for?" she demanded, feeling embarrassed and ticked off as the boy continued to laugh.

"Have to know you won't break little doggie's achy breaky heart, no?" Kouga was still grinning, but he had a serious glint in his eye.

Kagome watched him oddly, eyebrow raised and stomach fluttering. "Why… would I break his heart?" It sounded stupid saying it out loud, just like that, but she wanted to hear a reason, wanted to hear something.

Kouga smiled kindly and walked closer to her again. She flinched and ducked her head, but all he did was patting her head lightly.

"Yes – why would you?" Kagome glanced up, uncertain at his suddenly soft and sad tone. Kouga's face had lost all previous amusement and simply bore a gentle – pained – smile.

Her heart ached and Kagome found it hard not to ask what was wrong.

Kouga tilted his head, as though listening to something. A sharp tooth – _fang –_ flashed as he smirked. "Looks like my time is up. Nice meeting you, Kagome."

Two quick steps and he leaped out of her window, leaving her confused, shocked and a little angry.

_'What's with all these boys jumping out of windows all the time?' _Kagome thought irritatedly as she stomped over to the window, intent on shutting it and locking it. Perhaps even placing several books on the windowsill – somehow she didn't put it past Kouga to sneak a peek if he could.

Before she could even lay her hands on the cold glass, a clawed hand shoot through, gripping the window's side...

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><p><strong>Well, look at that! <strong>I'm still not quite dead. It's just my muse, twotiming me. That brittle little thing is funky enough to play around with me!

Hmph. Whatever. She will see what happens when she plays around with me...


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